Chidori
by Darkloverkitsune
Summary: Music band fic, SasuNaruSasu, sequel to Don't let me go; the story of the band Chidori - Sasuke, Naruto, Suigetsu and Kiba - as they go on tour, living the lifestyle of the rich and famous... Warnings: OCs, OOCness, drug use, and a lot of drama
1. Imperfect dream

Sequel to Don't let me go (This takes place 7 months after the ending) But I think I've made it so that you can read this one anyway if you haven't read the previous story...

Warnings (please read): Yaoi, SasuNaruSasu, rated M, drug use, some OOCness – but it can't be helped since this is AU and they have completely different backgrounds - and also there will be OCs in this (please don't flame me to tell me how much you hate OCs and that I could've just chosen from the Narutoverse characters, you've been warned…)

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of the song lyrics

Chidori

Chapter 1 – Imperfect dream

The fans were screaming their name - the very same name that was written in big neon lights on top of the stage. The Black Souls, the band that had made their first part, was finished now, and they were also cheering for them. Kiba, Naruto and Suigetsu were incredibly excited, anyone could tell, and they were just waiting for Kabuto to tell them they could go.

Sasuke was standing a little behind, taking deep breaths and trying to hide his nervousness. The stage was now filled by a thick smoke, and Kabuto urged the four boys to go. Kiba and Suigetsu respectively took place behind the drum and mike, and Naruto was about to go too, but he glanced back, smiled and grabbed Sasuke's hand to drag him along.

The smoke started to clear, and the crowd screamed hysterically when they could recognize the band. Sasuke couldn't believe it; there were so many people. They were wearing dark t-shirts with "Chidori" written on them, those boys and girls that had come to see their first show. And when they started to play, Sasuke's stress disappeared completely. He started singing almost only by reflex; they had practiced so many times.

The fans screamed excitedly when they recognized the song. They had sixteen songs on their record in total, and they would play almost all of them, keeping the fan's favourite hits for the end of the show.

As usual, the sounds of the instruments and Suigetsu's voice put Sasuke into a sort of trance. They really had developed a unique energy when playing together. And what gave Sasuke even more adrenaline was that the fans were actually singing along to his lyrics!

At the end of the first song the crowd was screaming so loud that Sasuke had to wait before talking. He knew he had to. Suigetsu had even written a little speech for him, but now he couldn't remember it at all. But it didn't matter. Clutching his mike tightly in his right hand, he stepped forward.

"Are you ready to rock this place tonight?" he asked loudly and the screams came again. "Are you ready for some real fucking metal?" More screams.

Kiba hit the drums and Naruto and Suigetsu followed his lead for the next song.

_We could blame, the world__ forever__  
><em>_We could just escape together__  
><em>_So are we breaking out or are we breaking down?__  
><em>_We can't blame this world forever, this world forever_

As Suigetsu screamed that last part and Naruto did his short guitar solo, Sasuke felt adrenaline filling up his entire body. He had written this song after meeting Naruto, and it had been one of these days where his father was being so close-minded as usual, and Sasuke had just been so frustrated.

_The end will never come__  
><em>_There's still a mountain left to climb__  
><em>_But we will overcome__  
><em>_The hurdles placed inside our minds__  
><em>  
>Naruto placed himself beside him as he played guitar, and Sasuke couldn't help but feel like this was the greatest thing they had accomplished together. All of the hard times they had been through, they had led them here, to this stage, creating something even greater and making this moment perfect.<p>

_So close but still so far__  
><em>_Each day will bring us brand new scars__  
><em>_What are we fighting for?__  
><em>_We cannot live like this no more_

_'Cause in the fake of darkened days, we know__  
><em>  
><em>We could blame, the world forever<em>_  
><em>_We could just escape together__  
><em>_So are we breaking out or are we breaking down?__  
><em>_We can't blame this world forever, this world forever__  
><em>

_Just need some clarity_

_Can't seem to open up these eyes__  
><em>_Don't want your sympathy__  
><em>_It took me time to realize__  
><em>  
><em>This is not what I want<em>_  
><em>_Or how I thought this life would be__  
><em>_This is not what we need__  
><em>_So take this shit away from me__  
><em>  
>This part had been inspired not only by Sasuke himself, but also by Itachi. Their rich family putting so much pressure on their shoulders was just wrong in his opinion, and he was speaking his mind through this song. Even if his father never understood, at least he had tried.<p>

_'Cause in the fa__ke of darkened days, we know_

_We could blame, the world forever__  
><em>_We could just escape together__  
><em>_So are we breaking out or are we breaking down?__  
><em>_We can't blame this world forever, this world forever_

_So are we breaking out or are we breaking down?__  
><em>_I guess what's done is done but we will overcome_

_We can't blame, this world forever__  
><em>_We can't blame the world forever__  
><em>_We could just escape together__  
><em>_So are we breaking out or are we breaking down?__  
><em>_We can't blame this world forever_

_'Cause in the fake of darkened days we know_

Song after song, the crowd kept screaming and asking for more. Security had to stop crazy fans from trying to jump on stage. Naruto was the most energetic as usual, and the crowd cheered for his guitar solos. He played in front of Kiba, back to back with Suigetsu, or next to Sasuke, always with renewed skills and focus; he would never stop to amaze Sasuke. As for the piano parts, they were pre-recorded and a technician was playing them each time they started a song that included it. Kabuto, Karin, Ino and also a few other friends that had come to Tokyo to see them were watching and cheering from the stage's entrance on the side. Jugo and Hinata had arrived a little late, but they were there now, standing next to Shikamaru, Temari, Sakura and Itachi.

With one last song, they thanked the fans warmly and disappeared back stage. But as expected, they were called for an encore. So they ran back on stage and played one of the first tracks of the record for the finale. Sasuke felt overwhelmed by the never ending energy and enthusiasm of the fans, and when it was finished he felt like it hadn't been long enough.

"This was our first show, and YOU GUYS MADE IT HAPPEN!" he shouted and the fans cheered, "Thank you!"

As he returned back stage with the others he was immediately pulled into Naruto's arms and they kissed passionately.

"That was the greatest night of my life!" Naruto exclaimed, grinning, when they pulled away.

"And it's not finished!" Suigetsu replied, putting both arms around them, "Time for the after party now!"

Naruto nodded, "It's Sasuke's birthday after all!"

The raven shrugged lightly, "No big deal."

"Of course it is!" the blond protested.

Shikamaru stepped in, "It was a really awesome show guys. But Temari and I are gonna head back…"

"I tried to convince him to stay longer, but you know how he is," Temari chuckled helplessly. "I really loved the show!"

"Thank you!" Suigetsu smiled.

Naruto hugged his friend, "Thanks for coming Shika!"

"What about you guys?" Karin, who had just gotten out of her daze as she watched the crowd leave slowly, turned to look at Jugo and Hinata.

"We'll stay a bit," Hinata smiled and Jugo nodded.

"So where's the after party?" Itachi asked.

"We can't go darling!" Sakura protested. "We have to work tomorrow!"

Ino shook her head as she glanced at the pink-haired girl, "Oh come on Sakura you're no fun! It's Sasuke's birthday!"

Itachi stepped closer to his little brother, "And I wouldn't miss it for the world."

Sasuke smiled, and as Shikamaru, Temari and Kabuto left, the rest of them got ready to go out. Sakura was still hesitating though, and it was getting on Sasuke's nerves.

"Look," Itachi gave her some bills, "just take a cab or something. I'll see you tomorrow."

"But… your Father's gonna be mad!" she insisted.

"I don't care," Itachi replied on an even tone, but Sasuke could tell he was annoyed.

She left, resigned, and Sasuke was glad. He still couldn't believe Itachi had married that girl. When everyone was ready they left by a subtle back door – they didn't want to be attacked by rabid fan girls. Sasuke got into Suigetsu's car with Naruto, Karin and Kiba. These two were still together, but Ino had broken up with Suigetsu a few weeks ago. So their blonde-haired stylist chose to ride with Itachi, Jugo and Hinata. They followed Suigetsu's car to a fancy night club downtown, where they had an entire floor to themselves for their private party; all paid by Orochimaru as a gift for Sasuke.

Their producer was very fond of him, and sometimes Sasuke thought that it was a little too much – and kind of creepy, actually – but he tried not to worry about it. Naruto, with his ever generous and trustable personality, had said that Orochimaru probably just appreciated his talent as the lead singer of the band.

At the club they went directly upstairs with their V.I.P. pass. Since their videos and record were already popular in Japan, they had to hide themselves a little when going out. So they wore sunglasses and hats most of the time. They still weren't used to it, but they knew it was part of the job.

Naruto took off his dark orange hoodie – Ino had not yet succeeded in getting him rid of that piece of clothing – and Sasuke openly checked him out as he was left in just a sleeveless dark blue shirt. Naruto had grown taller since he had met him, almost a year ago. They were now pretty much the same height. Also, he wasn't a karate sensei anymore, but his body was still lean and athletic as ever.

Naruto smirked when he noticed Sasuke's staring, and he slid his tanned arm around Sasuke's thin waist to lead him towards the bar.

"Cool thing they didn't card us," Kiba exclaimed.

"With the amount of money Orochimaru paid them for tonight, I think we don't have to worry about that," Karin chuckled.

She had gotten rid of her more professional clothes for a ridiculously tiny black dress and heels, and both her boyfriend and Suigetsu were staring at her with desire in their eyes. Thinking like Shikamaru, Sasuke wondered just how troublesome this situation would get. But for now it was okay – Kiba was oblivious. Karin though was enjoying the attention a little too much, and she was quite a tease for Suigetsu.

Due to aforementioned amount of money given by Orochimaru, it was open bar. They started with shooters, everyone wishing happy birthday to Sasuke. Hinata, Jugo and Ino went on their little private dance floor, not wanting to drink too much. But the others were taking advantage of the open bar – especially Suigetsu, Kiba and Naruto. Sasuke just imitated them; he was still full of energy because of the show, and for one of the rare times when he felt like partying, he thought, why not? He was also glad to be able to spend time with Itachi. His older brother was allowing himself a careless, fun night out for once, and Sasuke knew it was a relief for him to escape from his boring and monotone existence.

The Black Souls, the band that was on tour with them, were also invited and they arrived an hour later. The lead singer was a girl named Kimiko. She was also dating her guitarist, Takumi, a very quiet and shy guy. They seemed to balance each other out, because Kimiko was anything but quiet.

"SASUKE-KUN!" she screamed as soon as she saw him, and she pulled him from Naruto to hug him tightly, "You were amazing tonight!" She finally let him breathe in order to look at the rest of the band, "You all were, of course," she added with a charming smile.

Suigetsu and Kiba smiled and thanked her, already under her charm. Kimiko was short and tiny, but there was something special about her, mostly her natural beauty and rock n roll attitude. She wore skinny jeans and sneakers, with a striped blue and black t-shirt that was too big for her and let one of her shoulders show. Her long hair was obviously naturally black, but it was bleached, giving it a caramel blonde shade.

As for Naruto, he rolled his eyes and stood a little apart from the others. The rest of the band was obsessed with Kimiko, but not him. There was something about this girl that he didn't like. It was rare for him; he usually trusted everyone easily. It probably had something to do with the fact that she'd been obsessed with Sasuke from the very moment she had seen him. The guitarist of the Black Souls went to join him. They both stood silently for a moment, sipping their drinks and looking at a helpless Sasuke being harassed by Ino, Kimiko and Karin.

"You don't mind when she's flirting with other guys?" Naruto suddenly asked him.

Takumi shrugged, and looked at him with a little sad smile, "I'm used to it. And this time it's not like she has a chance anyway."

"True," the blond chuckled, "hey where are Yoshikazu and Hiroshi?"

"They should be here soon. I'm impressed that you remember their names. To be honest I don't even remember yours, sorry."

"It's okay," Naruto laughed, and then he introduced himself again.

They had met only once before the show; it had been a last minute decision by Kabuto, or Orochimaru, Naruto didn't really know the details.

"So how long have you guys been together?" Takumi asked.

"You mean with Sasuke or with Chidori?"

"Well, both."

"Actually it's pretty much the same time. We met in October last year, and we formed the band soon after. What about you?"

Takumi took his time to answer, and Naruto glanced at Sasuke quickly to see if he was okay or if he needed to be saved from the girls. Actually it seemed Itachi had beaten him to it, because the two brothers were now talking quietly together at the bar.

"I think it's been about four years, since our band is together."

"Wow!" Naruto exclaimed, impressed. "How do you do it? I mean, with my friends, we fight all the freaking time! Sometimes I'm afraid we won't even last a full year."

"It's Kimiko, really," he smiled, looking at his hyperactive girlfriend who was still talking with Ino and Karin. "She keeps us together."

Naruto nodded thoughtfully. Maybe it was the same with his band, but in their case he was the one playing mediator and preventing fights most of the time. Two new people arriving brought him out of his thoughts. Actually, in total there were six people; Hiroshi, the drummer, had a guy beside him and Yoshikazu, the bassist, had no less than three girls clinging to him.

Takumi chuckled when he saw Naruto's wide blue eyes, "Don't be so impressed. They're probably fans of your band and he took advantage of that."

"The party can start now!" Yoshikazu exclaimed, stopping by them just to poke Takumi in the stomach. "Hey it's my favourite emo boy!" he grinned and Takumi glanced away and sighed.

"Yoshi-kun, you promised you would introduce me," one of the girls whispered in his ear, but they heard it anyway.

"Oh, right, that, well I don't remember your name so introduce yourself," he shrugged and went to the bar with the two other girls.

Naruto raised a brow; that Yoshikazu guy was such a douche bag. He even had the look; short spiky blue dyed-hair with a black hat and sunglasses, tight jeans and v-neck shirt. The poor girl was left just standing there shyly, looking at Naruto in awe. Hiroshi also joined them with his date.

"I see you made a new friend," he told Takumi.

"He's the guitarist of Chidori you moron," Takumi replied, annoyed.

"I know that," Hiroshi smiled, his dark brown eyes never leaving Naruto's. "I wouldn't have forgotten a hot guy like that."

Naruto was starting to feel really uncomfortable. Takumi seemed annoyed, glancing at Kimiko once in a while. Naruto cleared his throat, trying to find something to say, but nothing came out. If only the obviously perverted gay drummer could stop looking at him like he was a piece of meat. And he had a date for Christ's sake! Finally Hiroshi flipped his long black hair back and made his way to the bar, the other guy following him. Weird…

The girl broke the awkward silence, "Can I have your autograph Naruto-kun?" she asked shyly, taking out a magazine cover and a pen apparently out of nowhere.

"Sure," Naruto smiled and signed her magazine.

"Thank you so much," she smiled back.

Then she ran to Kiba and Suigetsu to have their autograph, too. She probably hadn't noticed Sasuke yet...

"So are your band mates all crazy perverts?" Naruto asked.

"Welcome to my life," Takumi sighed.

"Come on, cheer up," Naruto laughed lightly, putting his arm around his shoulders in a friendly way, "it can't be that bad."

"Trust me, it is."

"So let's leave them here and go dancing, what do you say?" he suggested.

It had been a while since he'd danced in a club, and he missed it. Dancing was one of his favourite things to do, with Sasuke was a bonus of course, but right now he was with his brother and he wanted to let them catch up.

"All right let's go," the raven-haired guitarist gave in.

Naruto watched as he went to talk to Kimiko, and he did the same with Sasuke.

"I'm gonna go on the real dance floor," he grinned, "you'll join me later?"

Sasuke smiled and pulled him in a kiss, "Sure," he whispered.

He returned to his conversation with Itachi, and Naruto smiled at Takumi.

"Let's go!"

People were either too drunk to recognize them, or they simply didn't know they were famous. The dance music was even louder there, and they couldn't talk without yelling into each other's ears. So they simply danced, Naruto letting his body follow the rhythm with his natural confidence. Takumi was shy, though, but after a few more drinks he started dancing more, and he even smiled once. Naruto was glad that he was having fun at least; he had seemed so depressed before.

Kiba and Suigetsu joined them a few moments later, and the four of them danced together for a while. The next person to join them was Yoshikazu, still circled by his three female dates. As he was dancing with one of them, the two others found dance partners in Kiba and Suigetsu.

Naruto frowned as an obviously drunk Kiba was dancing really close to the girl. She was rubbing her ass against him and he was pulling her closer. He started kissing her neck and she turned her head to meet his lips.

Naruto glanced at Suigetsu; he was doing pretty much the same activity with the other girl. But Suigetsu was single now; Ino had dumped him for that very same reason. And the same thing was doomed to happen to Kiba, Naruto thought.

"Is everything okay?" Takumi asked, frowning.

"Yeah it's just…" Naruto hesitated.

"What?"

He shook his head and made his way to Kiba. He pulled him by the arm and yelled in his ear to make sure he would be heard.

"You have a girlfriend, Karin, remember?"

"I don't care man," Kiba slurred, "Just leave me alone."

Naruto did as he was told, sighing, but he figured at least he had tried. When he turned around he saw that Kimiko was there. She jumped in Takumi's arms and kissed him passionately, and then she started dancing with him. As usual when he was in a club and everyone around him had dance partners, Naruto longed for Sasuke. But he figured since he was probably still with Itachi he'd wait a little bit longer, and he was certain that he would join them in a little while anyway.

- Chidori -

Sasuke didn't want Itachi to go so soon, but he knew it couldn't be helped.

"Are you sure you can drive?" he asked again, worried.

"I didn't drink anything, Sasuke," Itachi reassured him.

He nodded quietly; it was true, but Itachi did look a bit tired.

"Text me when you get home all right?" Sasuke asked.

"Yeah okay," Itachi ruffled his hair gently, "your hair is getting longer. Are you trying to get my look?"

"You'd like that, huh?" Sasuke teased, "So that people mistake you for me in the streets and ask for your autograph?"

The older Uchiha chuckled and leaned closer to hug him briefly, "I'll miss you."

"Me too," Sasuke whispered as they pulled away. "Take care okay?"

"Yeah, you too."

"Tell Mom I said hi, and that I miss her."

"I will," Itachi nodded and smiled sadly. "Happy birthday Sasuke."

Sasuke watched him go, and a lump formed into his throat. He missed his family; it was true - Itachi, Mikoto, and even Fugaku, even though he'd never admit it. He had stayed with them until March, but when his father had learned that he hadn't gotten into any university he had kicked him out. Sasuke had stayed with Suigetsu for a little while, and then with Naruto. And after they had graduated – about the same time they had released their record – they had moved to Tokyo.

Suigetsu and Kiba had an apartment together, and at first Karin and Ino were living with them, but now Ino was temporarily living with Sasuke and Naruto in their own apartment. Sasuke didn't mind, he could understand her for not wanting to see her ex boyfriend all the time. Besides, she was crashing on the couch and surprisingly didn't take that much place. Naruto and Ino got along really well too, so there was no big deal.

He liked his life here, but he couldn't help missing his family – especially Itachi. So now that he was gone, he felt a little depressed.

"Sasukeeee!" a drunken Kimiko came to stand beside him at the bar, and offered him a drink. "It's my favourite, taste it!"

"Thanks," he chuckled. It tasted really good indeed, so he just emptied his glass completely and smiled at her. "Let's go dance with the others."

She grinned, "Cool!"

She took his hand and led him to the middle of the dance floor. He glanced all around them to try to find a familiar blond head, but it was as if he couldn't see anything. Everything was so blurry, and the crowd of dancers seemed to be thickening around him.

"We'll find them later," she smiled, voicing his thoughts.

He nodded and started dancing. His eyes lingered on the light effects in the club, and the music was pounding in his head. Suddenly it was all he could hear. Kimiko was talking to him, but he couldn't hear her, and then she was laughing, but he didn't know why. She pulled him in her arms and they danced together. Sasuke tried to pull away at first, a last spark of lucidity inside him wanting to get away from her, but then he stopped resisting.

He felt too good to fight against this. He felt light-headed, uncaring, like there was nothing, absolutely nothing that could bother him anymore. He was just having fun, dancing, dancing with whoever wanted to dance with him. He barely even noticed when he changed dance partners. It didn't matter, nothing mattered. He let his head roll back as he danced, looking at the light effects again.

He didn't know how much time had passed. Suddenly he felt dizzy, and the girl in his arms frowned.

"Hey you okay?" she asked.

It wasn't Kimiko. He didn't know this girl. Why was he dancing with her? He glanced around him, but there weren't any familiar faces.

"You okay?" she repeated, sounding worried.

He didn't answer, he couldn't find his voice. He pulled away from her and tried to find his way through the crowded dance floor. He needed to get out, to breathe some fresh air or something…

Suddenly he felt an arm on his shoulder and he was turned around. He gasped but then he was relieved when it was someone familiar. Finally…

"Are you okay?" Jugo asked him. "Hinata and I are gonna go."

"I don't think he's okay," the black-haired girl told her boyfriend, worried.

"Let's bring you outside," Jugo said, leading them both to the front door.

Jugo's strong built had always been intimidating, and at least it came in handy in situations like these because people immediately let them through. The air of downtown Tokyo in July wasn't exactly what you could call fresh air, but at least it was better than inside the club. The three of them sat on the sidewalk, Jugo in the middle. Sasuke tried to keep his eyes open, but it was too hard. He rested his head on Jugo's shoulder, still feeling dizzy and weak. But at the same time he still felt good – like nothing in the world mattered.

"I'm gonna call Naruto," Hinata's high-pitched voice said, and Sasuke frowned slightly.

"Naruto," he whispered.

"Yeah it's okay she's calling him right now," Jugo said reassuringly.

- Chidori -

Naruto was desperately looking for Sasuke. It had been two hours since he'd returned upstairs to look for him, but he wasn't there, and neither was Itachi. When he had asked around, Kimiko had just told him that Sasuke was probably somewhere on the dance floor. So Naruto started looking everywhere, but this was a really big club and it was hard to see through all the people that were dancing. So when his cell phone rang he didn't even look at the caller id, he just answered immediately.

"Sasuke?"

"Naruto, it's Hinata. Don't worry, Sasuke's with me and Jugo."

"Is he okay?" he asked urgently.

"Yeah, we're outside, at the main entrance. I think you should come now."

"I'll be right there," he said then hung up.

He hurried and made his way outside, and then he spotted Hinata, Jugo and Sasuke sitting on the sidewalk. Sasuke was leaning on Jugo, and that wasn't normal. Naruto walked up to them and sat beside Sasuke.

"What happened?" he asked and Sasuke seemed to react to his voice.

"Naruto," he whispered, and he pulled away from Jugo only to fall into Naruto's arms.

"It's okay," he held him tight, rubbing his back soothingly.

"Maybe he just drank too much," Hinata suggested.

"No," Naruto shook his head slightly, "he's not like that when he's drunk, believe me."

He would have laughed in any other circumstances – Sasuke drunk was the funniest thing ever, after all – but right now he didn't feel like laughing.

"I'm sorry," Jugo said, standing, "we really have to go."

Naruto nodded, standing as well and pulling Sasuke up, "It's okay, I'll take care of him now. Thanks."

He watched them as they walked towards Jugo's car parked further in the street. As usual Suigetsu had brought his car but would be in no condition to drive, so Naruto, still holding Sasuke with one arm, dialled Ino's number on his cell with his other hand.

"Naruto? Where are you?" she answered.

"I'm outside with Sasuke, I'm gonna call a cab, you coming with us?"

Ino was staying with them at their apartment but she didn't have the keys, so she told him that she would be there in a second and hung up.

"Naruto… I'm sorry…" Sasuke whispered and pressed himself closer to him.

"Why do you apologize?" Naruto asked. "What's going on?"

But Sasuke didn't answer, he seemed half-asleep. So Naruto just called a cab and waited. Ino arrived a minute later.

"Oh my God I'm so glad I'm staying with you guys! I wouldn't want to be with Karin and Kiba tonight! It's not gonna be pretty! She saw him dancing with this girl… Is he okay?" she suddenly interrupted her ramblings to take a better look at Sasuke.

She had seen him drunk before, and she knew that this wasn't the case.

"Did he take something?" Ino asked in a lower voice.

Naruto shrugged helplessly, "I don't know."

The taxi arrived and Ino took place in the front seat, telling the address to the driver, as Naruto sat with Sasuke in the back seat. The ride was quiet, Ino feeling obviously a little uncomfortable and worried for Sasuke. The latter was still in a half-asleep state, resting his head on Naruto's shoulder and occasionally whispering incomprehensible things and pressing his body closer to Naruto.

When they arrived Naruto paid and they got out of the car. He gave the keys to Ino and picked Sasuke up to carry him.

"Tell me if there's anything I can do okay?" she said once they were inside.

Naruto thanked her and made his way to the bedroom. He put a now fully asleep Sasuke on the bed, removed his shoes and jeans and put the sheet over him. Glancing at the living room, he saw that Ino was already sleeping on the couch. She must have been really tired – they all were, anyway.

Naruto sighed and undressed himself, too. He had wanted to give his gift to Sasuke tonight, but it looked like it would have to wait the next day. So he just crawled under the sheets and put his arm around Sasuke's waist, pulling him closer.

He was so tired, but it was impossible to sleep, he was too worried for Sasuke. But there was no one he could call for advice, and he couldn't possibly bring him to the hospital. That was the problem with fame; if you were just being a normal teenager, went out and took drugs, it would be all over the magazines and the internet in less than an hour.

Sasuke was gritting his teeth in his sleep, and Naruto was even more worried. He even tried to wake him up so that he would stop, but it didn't work. He eventually stopped, thankfully, and Naruto slowly fell asleep as well.

- Chidori -

In the morning the sound of the shower woke Naruto up. Sasuke was still sleeping soundly in his arms, so it was obviously Ino in the bathroom. Naruto, worried, looked at Sasuke's face closely; but he seemed just fine. Maybe just a little pale, but it was always hard to tell with Sasuke since his skin was already pale-white.

He caressed his raven hair softly and it woke him up.

"Naruto?" he whispered, confused.

"Please don't say you're sorry again," Naruto pleaded.

"What… what happened?"

"I don't know, you tell me," Naruto sat up, looking down at Sasuke.

But Sasuke only looked at him for a moment, confusion all over his beautiful face and his onyx eyes.

"I wasn't drunk," he finally said, also sitting up. "Maybe someone put something in my drink…"

"No shit," Naruto snapped, and he immediately felt bad. It wasn't Sasuke's fault. "Sorry, but you should've been more careful…"

"I think it was Kimiko."

Naruto's eyes widened in anger, "What? That bitch! I asked her where you were, and she didn't even tell me!"

"Look, it's no big deal…"

"How can you say that?" Naruto protested, "It was your birthday, it was supposed to be our night, I mean… do you even remember…?"

Sasuke's face didn't reveal much, as usual, but Naruto was able to read him well now. He knew that he felt guilty.

"You can tell me, maybe I'll be pissed, but you know I'll forgive you," he said half-teasing, trying to lighten the mood, "it's better to tell me the truth now."

"It was just dancing," he said, and Naruto knew he wasn't lying, "I danced with a bunch of people but it wasn't more than that. I didn't kiss anyone."

"Okay," Naruto said softly.

Unable to stand this any longer, he pulled Sasuke into a tight hug. He really didn't like fights – especially not with his boyfriend.

"Now all that's left is to kill that stupid bitch," Naruto said teasingly.

"Look, it's my problem… I don't want to add even more drama to this tour before it's even started. I'll talk to her in private, and she'll never do it again, and I'll be more careful anyway, and everything will be all right. You don't even need to worry about it."

"Fine," the blond sighed, pulling away slightly.

They heard a knock on the door.

"Are you feeling better Sasuke?" Ino asked through the door.

"Yeah I'm okay."

"Good, I'm glad!" she exclaimed, "Anyway, I just wanted to say that I'm done in the bathroom!"

"Thanks Ino!" Naruto replied, smiling, "A shower sounds good, no?"

"Hmm hmm," Sasuke whispered, getting up lazily.

They didn't care to go from their bedroom to the bathroom in just their boxers. Ino was used to it by now, and certainly not complaining.

The first thing Sasuke did was brush his teeth and then drink a lot of water – he refilled the glass five times.

"Damn, you were thirsty," Naruto said.

"I guess…"

"Probably that shit you took…" Naruto said before brushing his teeth as well.

Sasuke started the water and glared at him, "Naruto, I said I didn't want to talk about it anymore."

"Sorry…"

When he was done Naruto hopped in the shower next to Sasuke. They were still a bit tensed, but Naruto had an idea to make things all better…

"You know what I'd like Sasuke?" he whispered in his ear.

Sasuke stayed silent as he finished cleaning himself up, but his lips had twitched into an almost smile.

"Make up sex," Naruto said huskily as he brought a hand to Sasuke's crotch.

It didn't take much to turn Sasuke on. He turned around quickly and kissed Naruto passionately, running his arms all over his tan skin. He kissed his neck and Naruto tilted his head back to give him better access. He gasped as he was pushed against the wall. Sasuke grinded against his hips and he moaned loudly.

"Sasuke… I need you…"

The raven gave him another bruising kiss as he brought his fingers to his entrance to stretch him.

"Naru… you're so fucking sexy…" he whispered.

"Sasuke…" Naruto arched his back as his lover placed himself near his entrance, teasing him.

He shivered in anticipation and pulled Sasuke closer. Finally the desired feelings filled him as well as the usual pain that came with it – but it was totally worth it. Besides, he was used to it now and the pain never lasted long. Instead it was pure pleasure that filled him as Sasuke's thrusts went faster and faster inside of him.

"I love you," Sasuke whispered against his neck.

"Love you too," he breathed.

Sasuke kissed him again and then pulled away, out of breath.

"I'm so close," Naruto whispered.

Sasuke reached with his hand to stroke his painfully hard member, and with a few last thrusts they came together.

They washed themselves again and got out of the shower, simply wrapping clean towels around their waists. Ino was looking at them with big eyes as they walked to their shared bedroom.

"Sorry," Naruto said sheepishly.

"N-No it's okay," she said quickly, making Naruto laugh.

They locked themselves in the room and Sasuke sighed as he sat on the bed.

"Poor girl," he said.

"I think she enjoys it," Naruto chuckled.

"No idiot I meant with Suigetsu, how he treated her sucks. And now he's all over Karin. Well, I can't say I didn't see it coming."

"He wasn't all over Karin yesterday… He was all over a pretty fan girl that douche bag Yoshikazu had brought. Just like Kiba… Like you said before, such drama!" he laughed.

"It's funny now, but it won't be funny if everyone quits the band…"

"Don't worry, they won't quit as long as I'm here!" Naruto smiled, "More importantly, I have something for you."

Sasuke seemed to forget about the band's sentimental problems for a moment, and it was replaced by a slightly curious expression. Naruto's smile widened; he loved getting reactions like this out of Sasuke.

"What is it?"

Naruto fumbled through his drawers on his side of the room – the messy one – and then he showed Sasuke a nicely wrapped present, with colourful paper and ribbons.

"Ino wrapped it," he explained.

"You didn't even need to say it," Sasuke chuckled as he tried to take it.

But Naruto put it behind his back and smirked, "You have to try to guess first."

"It's like, a medium sized box or something; it could be anything in there."

"That's why you have to try to guess!"

"I don't know."

"Heh, fine, you're no fun," Naruto finally handed him his present, "bet you'd never have guessed it anyway."

Sasuke opened it carefully and Naruto was starting to get impatient. He was also starting to find that Ino had wrapped it a little bit too well. He was a little bit nervous, too; what if Sasuke didn't like it?

It had been really hard to find an idea for a gift at first; Sasuke was the kind of guy that if he wanted something, he just bought it. He had thought maybe a necklace, just like the one Sasuke had offered him a while ago, but Sasuke was always wearing his silver chain with the lightning flash pendant. So that idea hadn't worked.

So when Sasuke had finally removed all the wrappings and opened the box, Naruto held his breath.

"A notebook?" Sasuke picked it up, "It's really nice…"

"You have to open it!" Naruto exclaimed.

Sure it was a quite expensive black notebook with fine silver designs on its cover, but that wasn't all. And when Sasuke opened it Naruto couldn't have hoped for a better reaction. His beautiful smile widened as he turned the pages.

Naruto had left the right side blank for Sasuke to write, but on the left he had put pictures of the two of them.

"It's just that… I know you're old school and like to write in a notebook… and well, you once said that I inspired you so…"

"This is amazing… Naruto, this is…" Sasuke shook his head, at a loss for words. He looked up at him, "where did you get all these pictures?"

Naruto laughed, "Well, your mom, mostly, and also my mom, Ino, and Karin…"

Sasuke put it down carefully on his bedside table, and, still smiling, he got up and kissed him.

"You like it?"

"I love it," he whispered before kissing him again.

Naruto's hands lingered at Sasuke's hips, making his towel fall.

"Guys I made breakfast do you want some?" Ino suddenly asked behind the door.

"Maybe we should get dressed," Sasuke whispered.

"But I like you better naked," Naruto pouted and Sasuke chuckled and kissed him once more.

"Oh and Karin just called!" Ino exclaimed. "There's been a change of plans. We're leaving tonight to make sure we're on time for the next show!"

Naruto was filled by a mix of laziness – he wanted more time to just relax with his boyfriend – and excitement for the upcoming show.

"There's still time," Sasuke whispered in his ear, reading his mind.

Naruto smirked and pushed him on the bed, climbing on top of him, "Let's make the most of it then!"

TBC

Songs:

Breaking out, breaking down by Bullet for my valentine


	2. Road trips and old memories

Chidori

Chapter 2 – Road trips and old memories

He hadn't gotten the chance to talk to Kimiko before they left, but he would do it as soon as possible. What a stupid thing to do, put some E in his drink. Because Sasuke was certain it was ecstasy. He wasn't against drugs or anything, and he knew taking ecstasy just once wasn't the end of the world. But seriously, without asking him, just like that, when they had met only a few times? That girl was crazy; that was the only logical conclusion.

Naruto had agreed to keep this between them, and he knew Ino wouldn't blabber about it either. They were driving towards Nagoya, the location for their second show. The two bands were split into two vans, and there was also a truck for all the material.

Currently Kabuto was driving the other car, and Karin was driving this one with Ino sitting in the passenger's seat. She wouldn't tolerate either Kiba or Suigetsu. They were both sitting in the back, and Naruto and Sasuke were in the middle, and that was how Karin wanted it.

"So what exactly happened yesterday?" Naruto turned to ask them in a low voice.

The two girls were listening to some pop music – saying that made a change at least – and talking together, and if they heard Naruto's question they ignored it completely.

"We were drunk," Suigetsu said and Kiba nodded.

"Yeah"

Naruto rolled his eyes, "I know that much you morons. I mean what happened… you know, after the club?"

Suigetsu glanced at Kiba, and Naruto and Sasuke – he couldn't help being a little curious – also turned to look at the brunet.

"We had a fight… because I danced with some random chick…"

"You kissed her too," Suigetsu interrupted him.

"Shut up dude I'm trying to explain…"

"So what'd she say?" Naruto asked in a low voice, glancing at Karin to make sure she wasn't listening.

"She was pissed," Kiba said, "but I mean it's the first time it happens. I made a mistake. It's just hard you know? With Yoshi and Suigetsu doing the hardcore partying…"

"You're calling him Yoshi now?" Naruto asked mockingly.

"Well," Suigetsu said, "Yoshikazu _is_ a long name to say…"

"I don't even know who you're talking about," Sasuke interrupted.

"That's our antisocial bastard for ya," Suigetsu laughed.

"He's the bassist of The Black Souls, and a douche," Naruto explained.

"He's not that bad," Kiba said lamely.

"Yeah well he's bad influence," Naruto replied. "Always with those girls…"

"Yeah but it's hard you know!" Kiba exclaimed, then immediately lowered his voice, "Look at Suigetsu and Ino; they broke up. Karin's giving me a second chance, and I really love her you know? But I don't know if I can do it."

Sasuke, glancing at Suigetsu, wondered if he was secretly happy that Kiba's relationship wasn't going too well. Sasuke knew his friends well, and he knew during the past year Suigetsu had fallen for Karin all over again.

"I don't know how you guys do it…" Kiba added, "Maybe because you're gay, I dunno…"

"Kiba, man, that was the dumbest thing you've ever said, and you've said some dumb shit in your life." Naruto chuckled, "It has nothing to do with being gay. I mean look at Hiroshi – that's their drummer," he added for Sasuke, "He's a freakin' pervert who looks like he wants to fuck every hot guy he sees…"

"Did he flirt with you or something?" Suigetsu asked.

"Well…"

"Did he?" Sasuke insisted.

"Whoa guys no big deal!"

"I'll have to have a talk with that guy," Sasuke muttered darkly.

Naruto brushed it off and turned to his best friend, "Anyway, Kiba, I think what you have with Karin is great, and that you shouldn't give it up."

"Yeah, you're right," Kiba agreed.

Suigetsu glanced out the window, and Sasuke could tell he certainly didn't agree. If he wanted to be with Karin so bad, he should just talk to her, Sasuke thought, not try to get Kiba to cheat on her. He would have to talk to Suigetsu very soon. How great, now he had a lot of people to talk to… Maybe he'd need to make a list or something.

"Change the music!" Naruto suddenly shouted at the girls, breaking the awkward silence, "Change it! It's fucking Justin Bieber! I don't care what you put it to but just change it please!"

"All right just calm down Naruto!" Ino laughed, putting it to a more dance/electro radio channel.

It was silent for a while after that. Ino fell asleep and Karin was driving quietly, apparently lost in her thoughts. Kiba and Naruto were also sleeping. Suigetsu was listening to his Ipod. They had been driving for an hour and a half. A few more minutes and they would stop to a restaurant. So he could talk to Kimiko and that drummer guy there. But maybe he could try and talk to Suigetsu right now…

"Hey," he whispered.

Suigetsu didn't hear him. He probably had his music bursting loudly in his ear.

"Suigetsu!" he said a little louder.

Still no luck. Frustrated, but not wanting to wake the others, Sasuke removed his safety belt just enough time to lean towards Suigetsu and pull out one of his ear buds.

"What do you want?" he snapped.

"And I'm supposed to be the bastard here? I just wanna talk."

"Sorry man I'm just not… in a good mood," the silver-haired boy sighed.

Sasuke glanced at Karin; she seemed concentrated on the road, and the dance music was loud enough.

"Naruto forgot to ask you one thing. Why was she pissed at you, too?"

"Same fucking reason as Kiba," he muttered darkly.

"Because you danced with another girl and kissed her?"

"Yeah…" Suigetsu hesitated, "Well I fucked her too."

Sasuke frowned, "Even then, so what? You're not her boyfriend."

"I know!" Suigetsu leaned towards him so he could lower his voice even more, "But sometimes she acts like it. She's not my girlfriend, but she still doesn't want me to go anywhere."

"That's fucking selfish," Sasuke whispered.

"Yeah… You know what she told me once?"

"What?"

"Well she was drunk but still, I think it was the truth… She told me that she loved us both," he glanced at Kiba, who was still sleeping.

"She's gonna have to choose," Sasuke said.

"Yeah… But right now she's with him. And the three of us are living together. Can you believe how fun it is for me?" Suigetsu chuckled darkly, voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Man that sucks I'm sorry I had no idea it was that bad. But now we'll be staying in hotels for a while so just take a separate room or something…"

"We have to be four per room…"

"We'll figure something out," Sasuke reassured him, "One phone call to Orochimaru and I can get you a separate room."

"I believe you," Suigetsu chuckled, "I think that guy signed us just to get in your pants or something."

"Ugh… seriously man, don't say shit like that…"

Karin suddenly cleared her throat loudly, "We're stopping in five minutes! And by the way guys I'm not fucking retarded I know you were talking about me. Sasuke it's okay I know you wouldn't talk behind my back. But Suigetsu, just so you know, I really fucking hate you and I'd like you to stop telling him bullshit about me."

"Just so you know Karin I really fucking hate you too! You fucking hypocrite! I know you were talking about me with Ino this whole time!"

"Oh, because you think you're so important?"

"Look who's talking!"

"Guys, just shut up!" Sasuke interrupted them.

At this point, because of all the shouting, Ino, Kiba and Naruto had woken up. But it was okay because Karin soon pulled in the parking of a rest area. The other car followed, and Kabuto and the four musicians got out. Suigetsu immediately went to talk to Yoshikazu. Kiba followed him, and Karin eyed them suspiciously.

"We're gonna ride with them for the rest of the drive!" Suigetsu announced.

"Good," Karin spat.

She joined Ino and Kimiko and they went inside to use the bathroom. Naruto yawned and got out of the car slowly, standing beside Sasuke. He followed his stare, and they watched as the blue-haired guy put his arms around Kiba and Suigetsu.

"I like you guys!" he was saying, leading them inside, "and I was thinking we should also share a hotel room! I know these girls in Nagoya…"

They didn't hear the rest of his sentence, but Naruto sighed, leaning on Sasuke.

"Drama incoming," he whispered, making the raven chuckle.

It seemed to have become their private joke. Sasuke suddenly became aware of the three other guys. Kabuto seemed to be on an important phone call, and the guitarist, Sasuke remembered his name was Takumi, was smoking a joint quietly, and leaning on the car. He also had a worn out notebook in his hand. But Sasuke couldn't care less about all that. The other guy was openly checking Naruto out.

"What the hell are you looking at?" he snapped and both Takumi and the long-haired guy looked at him.

"I think we were introduced before, but just in case, I'm Hiroshi, nice to meet you."

"I asked you a question," Sasuke glared.

And now that fucker was also checking Sasuke out! What the hell was wrong with this guy?

"I'm aloud to look at eye candy when it's presented to me," he smiled, looking back at Naruto.

Takumi chuckled, "You should kick his ass, Sasuke. Really, he deserves it."

Hiroshi didn't react to his band mate's comment at all. Takumi just walked away towards the little woods behind the restaurant.

Sasuke took a deep breath and stepped closer to the arrogant long-haired guy.

"Okay fine let me just say this. You look as much as you want but you dare even think about touching him and I'll follow your friend's suggestion, got it?"

"Sasuke it's fine," Naruto muttered.

Hiroshi's dark brown eyes seemed to be sparkling in excitement, "Playing though, huh? I like that."

He couldn't help it; his fist moved on its own, and punched Hiroshi's face. It wasn't like him to lose his cool like that, but he just really wasn't in the mood. And he definitely wasn't playing.

"Sasuke! What the hell?" Naruto exclaimed, kneeing down next to Hiroshi.

His nose was bleeding. Okay, so maybe Sasuke had hit him harder than he had intended to. He didn't feel sorry at all though just… even more frustrated than before because now Naruto was helping Hiroshi, who was mumbling things about Sasuke lacking a "fucking sense of humor". Naruto led him to the restaurant, and the fucker had a stupid smirk on his bleeding face as he glanced back at Sasuke.

He sighed, glancing around him. Kabuto was still on the phone and the technicians were smoking cigarettes while leaning on their truck. He decided to imitate Takumi and go for a little walk. They were closer to the sea in this area and the night air was cooler than in Tokyo. Sasuke shivered in his light t-shirt. He remembered, in October, the year before, he had gone on a mini road trip with Naruto and they had ended up in a place like this one. Back then, Naruto had told him about his ex Sai, and Sasuke had told him about Haku. And Naruto had told him that he didn't want a relationship…

How they had grown together since then… Still, this memory made Sasuke smile.

"Hey," a soft, deep voice suddenly said.

"Oh, hey," Sasuke hadn't even noticed Takumi was there. That's how quiet he was.

He hadn't taken a good look at him before, but right now, with the moonlight illuminating his mid-length raven hair and slightly tanned skin, Sasuke could see he was beautiful. His delicate traits were roughened a bit by a lip and eyebrow piercings, but it looked good on him. He was lighting a new joint, and he passed it to Sasuke.

"Thanks," he said, breathing in the smoke and handing it back to Takumi.

He coughed a bit, and the other guy laughed.

"Your first time smoking?"

"Yeah," Sasuke said, taking another whiff, but this time he didn't cough. "But apparently I'm into drugs now."

"What?" he frowned slightly, amused.

"Your girlfriend put E in my drink without even asking me the other night."

Takumi burst out laughing and Sasuke actually laughed a little, too. Maybe it was the weed, or maybe it was just Takumi – his only presence was soothing and relaxing to Sasuke.

"That sounds like Kimi," he said, still laughing.

"Something wrong with her or what?" Sasuke chuckled.

Takumi stopped laughing, but he was still smiling. He just shrugged and, having finished his joint he threw it on the ground. He sat and then lay down completely, looking up at the sky. He put his notebook under his head and crossed his arms on his chest.

"That's something you don't see in Tokyo," he whispered, and on a whim Sasuke decided to imitate him, even being the neat-freak he was.

Lying down beside Takumi, he put his hands behind his head and looked at the stars. It really was beautiful. Sasuke wished Naruto could be there with him.

"You write?" he broke the silence after a moment.

"Yeah," he answered, his hazel eyes meeting Sasuke's for a second, then glancing back up at the sky, "I write the songs, Kimi sings them."

Well they both weren't very talkative, that was for sure. But it didn't matter. They just enjoyed the silence for a few minutes.

"Where's your boyfriend?" Takumi eventually asked.

"He went in the restaurant with Hiroshi…to help him."

"You punched him?"

"Yeah"

"Heh, nice"

"You hate him?"

"No... We've been friends for a long time. He's not a bad guy, but he's annoying," Takumi shrugged, sitting up. "His flirting gets on my nerves."

Sasuke also sat up, brushing the dirt off his t-shirt.

"Does he flirt with you?"

"Sometimes…"

"Well next time he annoys you, just tell me, I'll just make sure Naruto's not looking, and I'll beat him up again. It was fun, you know, a good stress killer."

Takumi chuckled, "Cool, I'll remember that."

"Should we head back?" Sasuke suggested, standing.

"Yeah," he imitated him and they started walking.

They had perfect timing; the others were just getting out of the restaurant. Most of them still had drinks in their hands.

Kimiko smiled when she saw them. She hugged Sasuke first – which he thought was weird – and kissed his cheek – which was even weirder. The others didn't seem to find it strange though; maybe she had done this to all the guys. Then she threw herself in Takumi's arms and kissed him on the lips. There was obviously a lot of hidden passion inside him, especially when it came to this girl. He was kissing back intensely, his hands caressing her long caramel hair.

"Save some of that for me Kimi!" the number one professional douche bag exclaimed, totally breaking their moment.

Kiba and Suigetsu were following him like he was some sort of God. And Sasuke watched, a little horrified, as Kimiko pulled away from her boyfriend to throw herself in Yoshikazu's arms instead. She kissed him lightly on the lips, laughing, and it was obviously just for fun but still, Sasuke thought it sucked. Especially for Takumi, who was glancing away with a sad look on his face.

Naruto brought him out of his contemplation of the members of the other band.

"Here," he handed him a cup of what he found out after tasting it was latte coffee, "And I didn't put anything in it," Naruto added teasingly.

Well at least he wasn't angry anymore…

"That wasn't funny," Sasuke replied.

Naruto took a sip of his own beverage – probably hot chocolate, Sasuke thought – and laughed.

"I thought it was funny. I'm gonna take a wild guess and say you still haven't talked to her since she was in the restaurant the whole time, and you weren't."

"I'll talk to her at the hotel, I guess."

"It's okay. Where were you anyway?"

"Just walking," Sasuke shrugged.

The others were already getting in the car. Yoshikazu took the driver's place, with Kiba next to him. Takumi and Kimiko sat in the back, and Suigetsu and Hiroshi – who still had a tissue pressed to his nose – took place in the middle.

"How is he?" Sasuke asked, even though he didn't really care.

"He's gonna be fine. It's not broken. I knew he was okay when he just kept flirting with me," Naruto shook his head, chuckling.

"Well I'm gonna have to hit him harder next time," Sasuke said half-teasing.

"No, damn it, Sasuke!" Naruto protested, but he was smiling.

"Hey Naru, do you remember that stupid double date with Itachi and Sakura?"

"Of course I do," he laughed.

"And then we went to a place like this and just walked."

"Yeah and when we sat together you fell asleep on my shoulder," Naruto added.

"You were answering your sms!" Sasuke said defensively.

Naruto put his arm around his waist and pulled him closer, "So why are you talking about random memories all of a sudden?"

"I don't know I just…"

"Guys! Time to go!" Kabuto suddenly exclaimed.

"I'll tell you later," Sasuke whispered as he walked towards the car.

This time they sat in the back seat. Kabuto was driving, and Karin was sitting next to him. Ino was alone in the middle, but she had brought a pillow and she was sleeping against the window. Since the driver was Kabuto, they were listening to his musical preferences; good old rock music. That was okay with Sasuke, who was actually glad the two hyperactive guys weren't with them for the rest of the drive, and who was content just to have a sleeping Naruto in his arms.

It was so easy for Naruto to fall asleep everywhere apparently. For Sasuke it was harder, but eventually he was just too tired, and he fell asleep as well.

- Chidori -

They ended up sharing a hotel room with Kimiko and Takumi. Ino and Karin were with Hiroshi and Kabuto, and the three other crazy guys – Kiba, Suigetsu and Yoshikazu – were all too happy to have a room of their own.

Thanks to the combined skills and ambition of both Kabuto and Karin, they had tons of television shows, magazine photo shoots and interviews to do for the next two days and then finally it was their show. Sasuke didn't really see the point in all this; Karin had told them the tickets were already all sold out, but he supposed business was business and that was why they were paid.

Sasuke didn't have to worry about money anyway. Sure he was making a lot of money right now, because they had gotten really famous extremely fast. But even if they were to become unpopular and lose all their money, he knew he would be fine because even if his father had rejected him completely, Itachi was also rich and would help Sasuke if he was ever in trouble. He didn't know about the others, but they were all in the contract – even Ino – and they were all paid. They didn't seem to worry about money either.

He took this opportunity to talk with Kimiko. It didn't even need to be private anyway – both Naruto and Takumi knew the story already. Naruto was sitting cross-legged on the bed playing some guitar, Takumi was lying down on the other bed writing in his notebook, and Kimiko was standing in front of the mirror in just a large t-shirt – it seemed to be too large even for Takumi – and girl's boxers, brushing her long hair, and Sasuke decided to talk to her.

"Hey, err, Kimiko, I wanted to…"

"Please call me Kimi!" she exclaimed.

"All right… anyway I just wanted to tell you something."

She stopped brushing her hair and jumped on the bed over Takumi, so that she was sitting on the side to face Sasuke.

"So next time you want to put something in my drink… you can like, tell me before, you know, ask me…"

"Did you have a good time?" she asked, tilting her head to the side, smiling.

"That's not the point Kimi," Takumi whispered, but she ignored him.

It was obvious Naruto wanted to say something, but he was controlling himself because he had promised Sasuke that he would let him deal with this on his own.

"Oh come on don't be like that!" Kimi explained, flipping her thick long hair back with her hand and leaning closer to Sasuke, "I just wanted you to relax and have a good time! You were looking so depressed!"

"Look I'm just saying next time just ask me, maybe I'll say yes…"

"Sasuke!" Naruto protested.

Kimiko laughed, "Oh come on Naruto you're not his father!"

"Maybe I'll say yes, maybe I'll say no," Sasuke finished his sentence, "You just can't do that randomly without asking people…"

"I'm sorry Sas'ke!" she pouted, "I won't do it again."

"All right," Sasuke chuckled. That girl was just too weird.

She had such a pretty face; long black eyelashes, big dark eyes, full lips in the shape of a heart, small delicate nose, not to mention her incredibly long and thick pale hair. She must have broken a lot of hearts… Besides, she never wore any makeup – except a little bit for the shows, but even the guys had to – and with her boyish and partier attitude she seemed the perfect girlfriend for a guy like Yoshikazu, or even Suigetsu or Kiba. Sasuke wondered why Takumi and Kimiko had possibly gotten together in the first place, they were so different… But it wasn't his style to ask people private questions like that.

So instead he just stripped to his boxers and crawled under the blankets. It was already 3 am, after all, and they had to get up ridiculously early the next day. He had noticed Kimi's stare when she saw him bare chest, but he was used to it. At least she hadn't squealed. She turned around and sat closer to Takumi, to see what he was writing.

"It's not finished," he whispered, closing the notebook so that she couldn't see.

"I just want to read… just a little bit," she pleaded.

"Okay…" he finally gave in, handing her the notebook.

She kissed him lightly and started reading. As for Naruto, he put his guitar down and also stripped to his boxers – Kimiko stared again, but Sasuke couldn't possibly blame her – and took place in the bed next to Sasuke, putting his arm around his waist.

"You two are just too cute for words," Kimiko smiled, before returning to her reading. After a little while she closed the notebook and hugged her boyfriend, "It's so beautiful, as usual. I can't wait to sing it," she said honestly.

"Thank you," he whispered and kissed her.

After that they closed all the lights and also went to sleep. After only a few minutes Sasuke could hear both their even breathing. It was normal for Sasuke to have trouble sleeping, but Naruto was also surprisingly still awake.

Sasuke turned on his side to face him. His blue eyes were wide open, and he seemed lost in his thoughts.

"You okay?" he whispered.

"Yeah… I'm not tired."

"Well," Sasuke chuckled quietly, "you slept for like, pretty much the whole four hours drive here."

"Hey you know what I've been thinking?"

"What?"

Naruto lowered his voice, even though the other two were obviously sleeping soundly, "The other band is so weird."

Sasuke had to resist the urge to laugh, "Well I must say, you're very good at stating the obvious."

"But maybe that's because we don't know them that well yet. Maybe they think we're weird too… Maybe…"

Sasuke, annoyed by these random ramblings, shut him up with a soft, but passionate kiss. He wrapped his arms around Naruto, pulling him closer and deepening the kiss. When he pulled away, Naruto was looking at him with desire in his clouded blue eyes. His pale blond hair was getting longer, and it was framing his beautiful face making him look like an angel. Now Sasuke was turned on. And so was Naruto.

"What were you saying?" he asked teasingly.

"Nothing…" Naruto whispered.

"That's what I thought."

Naruto kissed him again, and this time when they pulled away there was a silent question written in his eyes. A very obvious question – could they do it here? With the other two right there in the room?

"I don't know, Naru…" Sasuke whispered, trying to pull away, but Naruto kept him close.

"Maybe if we're _really_ quiet…"

"Sorry to break it to you but, you're quite a screamer," Sasuke said, amused.

"I'll try to be quiet," Naruto pleaded, "Come on I'm never gonna be able to sleep like this… I really want you…"

"Believe me; I want you too, but…"

"Then what the hell are we waiting for?"

Naruto attacked his neck with his lips and his tongue and Sasuke had to repress passionate moans. He couldn't help but breath louder though, he only hoped it wasn't loud enough to wake the others up. Naruto skilfully worked his way to his nipples, lingering there a little, and then all the way down to the hem of his boxers. He got rid of them and blew air on Sasuke's hard length teasingly.

"Naruto…" he whispered threateningly, shivering from anticipation.

The blond didn't lose any more time; he took it all in his mouth and started sucking skilfully. Sasuke's breathing got louder, but he tried to control it. Glancing at the others, he saw that they were still sleeping into each other's arms peacefully. He really didn't want to wake them up. He focused on all the blissful feelings Naruto was currently giving him. He was using his tongue, turning it around in his mouth, Sasuke could feel it, and God did it feel good…

"Naruto…" he breathed, "ah… damn you're good at this…"

He entangled his long pale fingers in Naruto's messy blond hair. He figured he didn't have to resist to make it last longer – the faster they finished the less risky to wake the others up. So he came faster than usual in Naruto's mouth, and the blond licked it clean and then looked up at him with a smirk.

"That was fast. Is it because I'm so good?"

"No it's just that I didn't want to wake…" he started but Naruto interrupted him.

"Wrong answer," he whispered teasingly.

"Yeah it's because you were so good."

"Do you think you can beat me?" he asked with an all too seductive playful glint in his blue eyes.

Sasuke smiled just as playfully and flipped them over, making sure that the sheets were still covering them. He got rid of Naruto's boxers and licked from his balls to the tip a few times, because he knew Naruto really liked that – and indeed his cock had hardened even more and his breathing was already a lot louder.

Then Sasuke engulfed it in his mouth and started to move slowly at first, and then faster, increasing the pace with each movement of his head.

"Sasuke," Naruto moaned, "Oh God… feels good…" he took one of Sasuke's hands in his and put his other hand in his black hair. "Sasuke…" he was moaning louder now.

But Sasuke couldn't let himself lose his focus for fear that the others would wake up. Naruto had challenged him, and even if it was just for fun Sasuke wanted to show him what he could do. It had been a while since they'd done this – blow jobs to each other. But it was great and that was what one of the things Sasuke liked most about Naruto; he was always spontaneous.

Naruto moaned his name as he came in his mouth – at least he hadn't screamed like he usually did – and Sasuke glanced at the other bed but they were thankfully still sleeping. That was a miracle. He kissed Naruto's toned stomach and chest tenderly, as the blond was still playing with his hair.

He let himself fall on the side and rested his head on Naruto's chest. The latter pulled the sheets up to their chests and put his arms around Sasuke.

"I love you so much," Naruto whispered, still stroking his hair.

"I love you too," he whispered and moaned slightly, almost like a purr; he really liked when Naruto ran his fingers through his hair like that.

"You're like a cat," Naruto chuckled. "I'm gonna start calling you Sasuke-neko."

"Go to sleep Naru."

"Sas'ke?"

"…"

"What did you want to tell me before? When we talked about… well, our first date last year?"

Sasuke opened his eyes and pulled away slightly to be able to look into Naruto's eyes.

"Well, about all this, hum… drama…"

"Yeah?" Naruto's lips twitched into a little smile at the mention of their inside joke, but he stayed serious and Sasuke appreciated that.

"I just don't want us to be caught in that."

He caressed Naruto's cheek softly with his hand, waiting for him to reply.

"I understand, but… what does that have to do with old memories of us?"

"I feel like…" Sasuke hesitated, "We're stronger than that. All the other couples around us, they're not working and people are always fighting. But with us it's been so great from the beginning until now, and I just… I don't want it to stop. But even though I know our relationship is strong, I feel like it's doomed to happen or something. And I'm scared… I don't want us to fight… I don't want… to lose you."

"Ah… Sasuke…" Naruto sighed, and he took Sasuke's hand in his, "I'm scared of losing you, too. It's only normal. When you love someone you're afraid to lose them. What is with you all of a sudden? Long speeches about love like that… this isn't like you."

"I guess I was having a moment or something."

Naruto chuckled and pulled him closer so that they returned to their former position; with Sasuke using Naruto's chest as a pillow.

"You won't lose me," the blond whispered, kissing his hair, "even if we fight, you know I won't stay mad very long. And I'll figure something out to fix it."

"Yeah, I know," he whispered and closed his eyes. "I guess I just needed to hear it."

And like this, feeling comfortable and safe, with Naruto caressing his hair softly, for one very rare time Sasuke fell asleep before his boyfriend. Unfortunately they both knew the night wouldn't be long enough…

TBC

A/N: Thank you for the reviews^^

- Justin Bieber joke; I couldn't help it...

- Sorry again about the OCs... if you continue reading the story you'll understand why they're important and why I couldn't choose Narutoverse characters (*wink* they'll show up later in the story *wink* Deidara... Kakashi... :P)


	3. Endless interviews

Chidori

Chapter 3 – Endless interviews

The buzzing sound of Naruto's cell phone alarm was the thing Sasuke hated the most at that moment. And he could tell the blond shared his feeling.

"Fuck," he grumbled as he reached with his arm to search his messy pile of clothes on the floor, "where is it?"

"Turn it off!" Kimi exclaimed from the other bed.

"Karin did this to my cell… I'm gonna kill her," Naruto muttered as he finally found it and stopped the alarm – thankfully.

"Tell me we don't have to get up now?" Sasuke pleaded, his head hidden under a pillow.

"6 fucking am… you've got to be kidding me…"

He threw his phone back on the floor, but then it started ringing so he had to pick it up again – not without an impressive amount of curse words.

Sasuke could hear Karin's voice through Naruto's cell. She was speaking so damn loud.

"Did my alarm work? Good!" she exclaimed before Naruto could even answer. "Big promo day for you guys! I need you and Sasuke to take a shower and get your asses to the hall in thirty minutes!"

And she hung up.

Forty five minutes later, a very tired Sasuke got to the entrance hall of the hotel, dragging an equally exhausted Naruto behind him.

"Finally!" Karin exclaimed, relieved, but then she seemed angry again, "Where are the others?"

She looked very professional in a white blouse and black skirt, and her long red hair was perfectly sleek, but the look on her face revealed that she was tired and nervous.

"Try calling them?" Sasuke suggested.

She nodded, already dialling the numbers on her cell. Ino suddenly came out of the elevator, appearing before them.

"Sorry it took so long Karin, Hiroshi didn't want to come out of the bathroom and I needed some stuff," she said, glancing at her big stylish black bag containing all of her favourite accessories.

"It's okay," Karin said, "Damn it they're not answering!"

Ino was now looking at the two guys, "Yup, I'll definitely need my stuff."

"Thanks Ino," Naruto said sarcastically, "How do you do it anyway? You never look tired!"

"Makeup my friend," she laughed.

Her pale skin indeed appeared flawless, and she had dark violet makeup around her turquoise eyes, matching her outfit as usual.

"I'd rather look tired," Naruto replied.

"No, no, no! You will need makeup for the photo shoot!" Ino insisted.

"Kabuto's not coming?" Sasuke asked Karin.

"No not today, but don't worry I'm taking care of everything," she said, trying to look confident, but Sasuke could tell this made her a little nervous. "Finally!" she exclaimed, and following her stare Sasuke saw Suigetsu and Kiba literally stumbling their way towards them. "Why haven't you guys answered any of my calls?" she asked angrily.

"I'm sorry…" Kiba said sheepishly, scratching his messy and still wet brown hair.

Suigetsu put his arm around Ino's shoulders, "You'll have to work your magic princess."

"Ugh get off me," she pushed him, "you smell alcohol…"

"Don't tell me you partied last night you idiots!" Karin exclaimed.

"Well…" Suigetsu laughed, "Maybe…"

"Okay guys!" Naruto interrupted before things could get too far – Karin did look ready to hit Suigetsu and maybe even kill him. "Let's not waste our time, we're already late, isn't that right Karin?"

"Yes," she answered firmly, "let's go."

They followed her outside, where a taxi van was waiting for them. Karin sat at the front and told the driver the directions, while Ino, Suigetsu and Kiba were sitting on the back seat and Sasuke and Naruto in the middle.

"So where are we going first?" Sasuke asked their red-headed agent.

"To a studio downtown, it's for a teen magazine," she answered, glancing back at him, "for a photo shoot and an interview with a journalist."

"Cool," Naruto said enthusiastically.

"No not cool," Suigetsu muttered from the back seat, "They're gonna ask us stupid questions again. Remember last time? What's your favourite ice cream flavour and if you could be an animal which would you choose and stupid shit like that…"

"I thought it was fun," the blond replied, making Sasuke smile. He remembered that stupid interview – Naruto had pretty much been the only one answering the questions.

Ten minutes later the cab stopped to drop them at the studio. When they entered the place the journalist – a young woman with bleached hair and an impressive wide smile - was already there. She introduced herself and invited them to go get ready for the photo shoot.

So the four boys made their way to the back room where a little team of stylists and hairdressers were waiting. This was a little bit intimidating and scary for them, so they pretty much stayed silent and did as they were told - except Suigetsu, who refused to get a haircut.

"My hair's fine," he insisted.

Ino ended up convincing him; his hair was indeed getting a little bit too long. So they cut his silver hair shoulder-length and straightened it with a flat iron. Kiba got his hair dyed with bright red high lights in them, and they styled it spiky all around his head. As for Naruto and Sasuke, they simply got their emo style bangs fixed and hair all sleeked out. This made Ino squeal because like this they had almost exactly the same hair, except for the colour.

"This is wicked," Kiba grinned as he looked at his hair in a mirror.

"Can I have highlights too?" Naruto asked Ino as she was doing his makeup.

"What colour would you want?" she asked, chuckling, as she applied the tan-coloured powder on his cheeks.

"Orange," he grinned.

"Stop moving."

"Sorry," he immediately stopped smiling. He knew that if he did as Ino told him it would be finished faster.

"You should've told me sooner, now we don't have time but…" she hesitated, "I'll try to do it before the show if you want."

"Cool!" he exclaimed.

Ino smiled, "There, all finished!" she stood and went to sit next to Sasuke instead.

"I already did my eyes," the raven told her, speaking about his black eyeliner.

"Good," Ino said, "but I also need to use some concealer… You should sleep more baby, you have some pretty big dark circles…"

Bored by all this girly talk, Naruto went to talk to Kiba instead. He had gotten changed into black skinny jeans and a striped red and grey t-shirt and matching belt, and now it was Suigetsu's turn to get changed.

"It's so cool," Naruto touched the tip of Kiba's spikes.

"Thanks," he grinned, "you just look emo as usual."

Naruto shrugged, "Whatever. Hey do you think we should have prepared like… answers, or something? I mean we have so many interviews…"

"I don't know. Honestly, I'm pretty sure I won't even answer any of them. I mean I'm just the drummer, the fans don't care about me."

"Don't say that!" Naruto exclaimed.

"It's true."

"Look who's being emo now…" he teased his best friend, nudging him in the ribs with his elbow.

Suigetsu got out of the little cabin wearing low rise dark blue skinny jeans, a silver and purple belt and a black tank top.

"Man you look so gay," Kiba mocked him.

"Thanks," Suigetsu said simply and Kiba, obviously not expecting that reply, shut his mouth.

"Naruto-kun you're next," a short girl handed him a little pile of clothes.

He ended up looking the gayest of them three… His chosen outfit consisted of military style skinny jeans, a white tank top and a black fishnet sleeveless shirt over it.

"Why do I have to wear this…" he protested lamely when he came out.

Of course Kiba didn't lose any time in mocking him as much as he possibly could.

"Sasuke-kun!" the girls called; it was the lead singer's turn.

When he was done Naruto did some shameless staring. But everyone else who was somewhat attracted to men in the room did the same. Sasuke's pale skin, accentuated even more by Ino's makeup, almost glowed in an ethereal white, contrasting with his shoulder-length sleek raven hair. His bangs partly hid his eyes, but they were still intensely dark – again this was accentuated with the makeup. His skin tight jeans and tank top were all black, but the simplicity of it just made him look even hotter.

"You look so hot Sasuke!" Ino squealed, voicing Naruto's thoughts.

Suddenly Karin entered the room and crossed her arms impatiently, "The photographer's here, are you guys finished?"

"Yeah!" Suigetsu and Naruto exclaimed at the same time.

They all returned to the actual studio where they were asked to stand in front of a green screen and do all sorts of different poses. But most of them consisted of Sasuke being at the front and the three others further behind. The obviously gay photographer hired by the magazine was obsessed with Sasuke, and it was starting to get on Naruto's nerves…

"That's gorgeous Sasuke-kun. Yes, just like that, I love your facial expressions. Yes, very beautiful…"

"What facial expressions?" Kiba mocked in a low voice.

Naruto and Suigetsu laughed, and Sasuke even turned to glance at them with a little smile and shrugged, as if to silently tell them he had absolutely no idea himself.

"Guys come on…" Karin sighed.

"Just a few more pictures and then we're done," the photographer encouraged them, "All right Sasuke-kun keep your hands in your pockets that's good, and place yourself in the middle beside Suigetsu-kun, yeah just a little closer… That's perfect…"

Naruto was a little jealous; why couldn't he be the one standing next to Sasuke? But then he remembered they had to keep their relationship a secret. Actually Kabuto had told them to keep any relationship a secret; if they were asked about private things like that they had the right not to answer. Besides, Kabuto had also mentioned that it was better for the fan girls to keep dreaming that maybe they actually had a shot with them. Naruto thought it was stupid, but he figured it wasn't a big deal anyway.

With the photo shoot finally done, they all took place on chairs around the journalist. She looked very excited to finally be able to interview them. As for Karin, she was glancing at her cell phone nervously. Naruto felt bad for her; the poor girl was way too stressed out. Probably because it was the first time Kabuto wasn't coaching her. Sitting between Sasuke and Kiba, he looked at the young woman, waiting for her to start talking.

"Okay, let me explain how it works," she said, smiling widely, "Today I'll be recording just to make sure I don't forget anything. When I'll be done with the article I'll email it to Karin-san. We'll wait for her approval to publish it in our magazine. So let's get started!" She took a deep breath, still smiled, "Just tell me how you guys got together?"

When no one else talked Naruto decided to take the initiative, "Well I was already friends with Kiba since elementary school, and in high school, in music class we often played together. I think it was the same for Sasuke and Suigetsu…"

"Yeah," the silver-haired boy nodded, "and when these two met," he pointed at Naruto and Sasuke, "that's when it all started!"

The journalist nodded, smiling, "How did you come up with the name Chidori?"

They all glanced at Sasuke, but he was staying silent.

"Sasuke came up with it," Suigetsu finally said. "And it did sound better than any of our other suggestions so…"

She nodded and crossed her legs, she seemed thoughtful for a moment, and then she continued with her questioning, "What are your influences and the music you like?"

"I think they're different for each one of us," Suigetsu started, "for me I'd say I like music in general. I mean I listen to pretty much everything from dance and pop to metal."

"It's pretty much the same for me, although I'm a metal fan of course," Naruto said, "Children of bodom is my all time favourite band."

Kiba leaned forward in his seat enthusiastically, "I'm really into death metal, like Amon Amarth, Arch Enemy, Dimmu Borgir…"

Naruto smiled at his best friend; he was glad because it looked like Kiba found this interview much more interesting than the one where they had been asked their favourite ice cream flavour.

"What about you Sasuke-kun?" the journalist asked him.

"Children is definitely one of my inspirations," he started, "And also Cradle of filth. But I like to listen to as much music as possible. Get as much influence as I can for the lyrics, the melodies…"

He looked at her as he finished answering the question, and she blushed slightly. Naruto had to resist the urge to roll his eyes.

"Let's talk about your lyrics," she smiled, "most of your songs seem to talk about love, relationships, break ups... Am I right so far?"

"I guess so, yeah," Sasuke nodded slowly, flipping his raven bangs to the side.

"Well, do they talk about someone in particular?"

Sasuke hesitated, "I like to… write the songs according to my feelings, and yes they can talk about a certain person, but I'd like the fans to have their own interpretations of my lyrics."

"In other words he's not gonna tell you if he has a girlfriend or not," Suigetsu said, and they all laughed.

The interview continued with general questions concerning their music, their style, and their feelings towards their successful record and tour that had only just started. All in all it wasn't so bad, but after an hour Naruto was glad it was finished. He was tired, starving and he just wanted to get rid of his tight and uncomfortable clothes as soon as possible.

So later in the changing room he let out a contented sigh when he slipped back in his own comfier jeans and t-shirt.

And outside the first thing Naruto did was hug Sasuke tightly. The latter chuckled and hugged him back.

"It's annoying pretending not to date you," he pouted and Sasuke made a little smile as they pulled away.

They looked at their friends and noticed Kiba had taken Karin's hand timidly. She even let him kiss her.

"You guys are so cute," Ino sighed dreamily. "I mean even your hair matches now."

"Wow Ino that was so deep!" Naruto said in his best drama queen voice, teasing her a little.

The only one that seemed to be in a dark mood was Suigetsu, as he glared at Ino darkly, "You think every couple is cute. If I'd start dating my own mother you'd probably go on screaming about how cute we are."

Ino frowned and bit her lip, glancing away. It wasn't just the words themselves, but how harshly Suigetsu had said them. Everyone fell in an awkward silence, and again Naruto was the one to lighten the mood.

"I'm hungry!" he exclaimed. "Who's hungry? Karin please tell me we have time to stop at a restaurant because I really need food."

"Me too!" Kiba laughed.

"Yeah," Ino smiled, wiping a single tear at the corner of her eye.

Karin checked the time on her cell, "We have an hour."

"Awesome!" Kiba exclaimed, and with his arm around her shoulders they started walking down the street.

Ino, Naruto and Sasuke followed them, and Suigetsu stayed a little farther behind, apparently still in a pretty dark mood. Naruto kept glancing back at him, feeling worried for his friend. He didn't like seeing him like this. From what Sasuke had told him – and he wasn't that dumb, he could make out the rest – he knew what was going on with Suigetsu's feelings for Karin.

"Maybe you should go talk to him?" Naruto asked Sasuke.

"Yeah okay," he sighed.

Sasuke squeezed Naruto's hand a little and kissed him softly, and then he waited on the sidewalk until Suigetsu reached him. Then they walked together in silence, but Sasuke could tell his friend appreciated just having someone beside him.

They stopped at a breakfast restaurant and while the others went inside excitedly, Sasuke and Suigetsu stayed outside on the sidewalk. The weather was beautiful and actually Sasuke found it a little bit too hot. So he went to find a nearby spot in the shadow, beside the restaurant, and Suigetsu followed him quietly.

"I'm not hungry," he said simply.

"Yeah me neither," Sasuke shrugged.

There was something he wanted to tell Suigetsu, but he wasn't really good at this, and he wanted to find the right words.

"You don't have to say anything," he glanced at him with sad violet eyes.

It was in those times that Sasuke realized how much they knew each other. But even if he didn't have to, he wanted to say it.

"I think you should try to move on."

Suigetsu chuckled, "If Naruto had broken up with you and was now with someone else, and I told you to move on, what would you say?"

"…"

"You'd probably punch me in the face and tell me to shut the fuck up."

"But you're not me."

"I know," Suigetsu sighed. "But it's not that easy…"

"But you should really try," Sasuke insisted. "I'm not telling you to give up on her. Look, if you move on and date other people, then she might realize just how much she really loves you and she'll regret the way she treated you."

"Or she just won't care, hate me even more and stay with Kiba."

"At least you'd have tried."

He hesitated, thoughtful, "You may have a point Mister therapist."

"I'm not a therapist I'm just your friend," Sasuke chuckled.

"Aww! You actually said we were friends. Kawai!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes, but he was glad to have his idiotic best friend back.

"We're gonna party with Yoshi and the rest of the gang tonight, you in?" Suigetsu asked him.

"I don't know…" he hesitated, "It's our show tomorrow…"

"Oh don't worry we're probably just gonna stay at the hotel. Nothing big just, you know, hanging out together… Who knows, it might be my chance to move on, like you said yourself."

"Yeah sure okay… But whom exactly are you planning to move on with?" Sasuke raised a fine black brow, "I mean Kimi's already taken – although I admit that doesn't seem to stop her – and the others are all guys."

"So what?" Suigetsu shrugged.

"You're kind of weird, you know that?" Sasuke said half-teasing.

"So what?" he repeated. "Being normal is boring!"

"Whatever you say…"

- Chidori -

In the afternoon they had a radio interview, and Sasuke found it kind of boring. The guy was nice and all but they were the same questions over and over again, and it was getting annoying. But thankfully Suigetsu was back to his more cheerful personality, and Sasuke let him and Naruto answer most of the time.

At the end he asked Sasuke to sing one of their biggest hits in acoustic version just for the fans listening, so he did. Naruto exchanged little knowing glances and smiles with him as he sang… This was both their favourite because they had worked on it together before the band was even formed.

_With bloodshot eyes_

_I watch you sleeping_

_The warmth I feel beside me_

_Is slowly fading_

_Would she hear me_

_If I called her name_

_Would she hold me_

_If she knew my shame_

_There's always something different going on_

_The path I walk's in the wrong direction_

_There's always someone fucking hanging on_

_Can anybody help me make it better?_

_Your tears don't fall_

_They crash around me_

_Her conscience calls_

_The guilty to come home…_

After that they were headed directly to another building for a television show. They were all tired and felt like killing Karin for taking so many appointments the same day, but excitement got the better of them when they parked on the street already filled with fans. It was a live show, and since the place was already filled inside there was a large and thick crowd of fans waiting for them. Some bodyguards had to surround them as they walked towards the entrance.

Naruto, Kiba and Suigetsu were all smiles and signing autographs. Sasuke was making some efforts to do the same, but he was less enthusiastic than the others; actually he found it a little scary.

Karin and Ino stayed back in the car for now; they probably didn't want to be murdered by jealous possessive fan girls. They would join them later inside.

They stayed in their own casual clothes for the interview, and as Karin had told them in the car they would have to perform two songs for this little show. So they weren't surprised to see all the instruments ready for them, and they had already decided on what songs they would do.

The show started at 5 pm and they had to hurry up, so they followed the instructions of the staff. They took place on two couches; Naruto and Sasuke on one and Kiba and Suigetsu on the other, with the hosts – a girl and a guy that looked to be around 23 years old – sitting in front of them. The audience – a mix of boys and girls all dressed in dark clothes - was gathered all around. There was the ritual of introduction and the excited screaming and clapping of the fans. A lot were wearing t-shirts of their band, and some even had posters and magazine covers in their hands.

At first the cameras were bothering Sasuke, but after a few minutes he got used to them. This interview turned out to be more fun than the two previous one they'd had that day…

"So let's start with who does what in the band," the girl said, "Sasuke you're the singer, Suigetsu the bassist and back vocals, Naruto guitarist, and Kiba drummer. So who writes the songs?"

"Sasuke," Naruto answered, "We help him sometimes but mostly it's him."

Since the show was live and lasted only an hour it was very fast paced, and the guy followed quickly with another question, "And who is the organized one? Who takes the appointments, makes the schedules…?"

"Actually that would be Karin, our friend and manager; she's the one that makes it all happen!" Suigetsu pointed at her – she had joined them with Ino and they were standing behind with the producers of this television show.

One of the cameras pointed at her and she smiled and waved with her hand. The fans even cheered for her a bit.

"We have some random questions to ask you guys, just for fun, and to see if you really know each other," the girl host smiled mischievously, "so first question, who takes the more time to get ready before going out, or before a show?"

"Suigetsu!" Naruto exclaimed, laughing.

"Definitely Sasuke!" Kiba exclaimed at the same time.

"I think it's both of us really," Suigetsu admitted, laughing, and Sasuke smiled.

"Okay," she laughed, "next question is, who's the one who eats the most?"

"Naruto!" Kiba and Suigetsu exclaimed at the same time.

"Guilty as charged," the blond chuckled.

"Who's the laziest?" the guy host asked them.

"Suigetsu!" they all said – even Sasuke this time.

"All right guys we'll have more questions coming up," the girl said, laughing, "but for now we're gonna watch one of your videos, and then we'll have a quick commercial and be back right after!"

They glanced at the big screen where they could previously see their faces, and it was now showing their first video. They had made three videos so far, and this one was for the same song Sasuke had performed for the radio earlier. It was a typical music video, with several scenes just showing the band perform in a set up, and the rest were images of actors they had hired – a boy and a girl of course. It was pretty dark but it was never boring, and the fans seemed to enjoy it.

After the commercial break the hosts announced they would answer questions directly from the audience. One of the technicians - or whatever was his job, Sasuke didn't know - was choosing people randomly. So first a shy girl stepped forward.

"My question is for Sasuke-kun, hum… what do you look for in a girl?"

Sasuke raised a fine brow, thinking that it wasn't humanly possible to be blushing more than this girl was at the moment. He exchanged a glance with Naruto, and saw that he was hardly containing his laughter. He had to answer something… Everyone was waiting… The first thing that came to his mind was Kimiko. He figured, if he were straight, maybe he'd go for this kind of girl - or not, but he did need an answer.

"Well, I guess she'd have to be funny, simple… and spontaneous," he started, and the fan girls were listening with eyes wide open, "Not afraid of being who she is, and just… a fun and interesting personality I guess."

"Actually what you described sounds a lot like the singer from the Black Souls, the band currently touring with you if I'm not mistaken," the girl host said excitedly.

Well damn, Sasuke thought, he hadn't meant to make it that realistic.

"I read in an interview Kimi-chan made before the tour that she was very excited to meet you! So is there anything going on between you two?"

Ah, damn women and their gossiping, he thought, annoyed.

"No we're just friends," he said and immediately cursed inwardly for not sounding very nice.

This was a live show after all, watched by who knew how many people… But it didn't seem to matter at all. The hosts just laughed and then she also asked the other guys what their dream girl would be.

"I'd say though and serious on the outside, but vulnerable and sensitive on the inside, and with a great personality and a big heart that would belong to me only," Naruto said, and Sasuke could've sworn he heard some squeals from the feminine audience.

"Well," Suigetsu chuckled, "That was so well said, I have to agree with him!"

"What about you Kiba?" the girl interviewer asked.

"Just, you know, funny, smart and hot," Kiba gave the typical straight guy answer.

They accepted some more questions from the fans, and basically a few guys asked questions about their instruments, their music, their inspirations, and girls asked them questions related to relationships and dating again.

They answered as best as they could, and then it was time to perform.

There was a keyboard with a mike, and Sasuke took place there. He was glad to be able to play and sing at the same time, unlike in the shows. Naruto, Suigetsu and Kiba also got ready. They started playing, and the first one to sing was Suigetsu.

_For so many years I tried to complete what I once started__  
><em>_But, something was always here. Hiding away from me__  
><em>_Kept me from making it happen, it's so unreal__  
><em>_The clock is ticking the time is passing me by, passing me by__  
><em>

Still playing his part on the keyboard, Sasuke started singing.

_Everywere,, all that is near__  
><em>_And now it's time to show them all, what I am, who I am, what I think_

_Anwser me for all that I´m asking__  
><em>_Taking back what I´ve been missing__  
><em>_Looking back making me stronger__  
><em>_My despair breaks me no longer__  
><em>_My despair_

_So we think, got out of my escape out from your prison__  
><em>_I was, out of myself. Strike as I never__  
><em>_feelings of fear, feelings of joy, nothing can get me now__  
><em>_feeling alive may take me longer than I ever expected.__  
><em>

_Everywere__, all that is near,_

_And now it's time to show them all, what I am, who I am, what I think_

_Anwser me for all that I´m asking__  
><em>_Taking back what I´ve been missing__  
><em>_Looking back making me stronger__  
><em>_My despair breaks me no longer_

In this song Sasuke was expressing just how much his life had been meaningless before he had met Naruto. From his loveless and painful relationship with Haku to his father making his life miserable, he had been nothing but a ghost of himself, back then.  
><em><br>__Everywere, all that is here__  
><em>_Everywere, all that is near__  
><em>_Anwser me for all the I´m asking__  
><em>_Taking back what I´ve been missing__  
><em>_Looking back making me stronger__  
><em>_My despair breaks me no longer_

Sasuke opened his eyes as they finished the song – he hadn't even realized he had closed them. He made a little smile as the fans cheered for them. For the next song he got up and picked up the mike. He didn't need to play any keyboard, so he would try to convey all his energy in the song to put a successful end to this crazy day of interviews.

This next song was one he had written about two years ago and reworked on for the album; actually it had been inspired by his ex, Haku. It was one of Kiba's favourite ones, because it was more inclined towards hardcore metal.

_No more I'm taking this hatred from you__  
><em>_You make me feel dead when I'm talking to you__  
><em>_You'll take me for granted when I'm not around__  
><em>_So burn all your bridges 'cause_

_I'm not going down (down)__  
><em>_This time I will be heard__  
><em>_I'm not gonna burn__  
><em>_It's funny how the table,__  
><em>_how the table turns_

_You fake (fake!) god damnation__  
><em>_You pray (pray!) for salvation__  
><em>_'cause your heart is made of stone__  
><em>_You can die and rot alone_

_I hope you're unhappy__  
><em>_and hurting inside__  
><em>_I want you to choke__  
><em>_when you swallow your pride__  
><em>_Lay in your coffin__  
><em>_and sleep with your sins__  
><em>_Give me the nails__  
><em>_and I'll hammer them in_

_Right now__  
><em>_This time you won't be heard__  
><em>_You are gonna burn__  
><em>_It's funny how the table,__  
><em>_how the table turns_

Ever since their relationship had been ended by Sasuke, Haku had always showed him nothing but hatred. He had even threatened to kill him a few times if he refused to take him back. He was one of the very few people that had managed to scare Sasuke in his life.

_You fake (fake!) god damnation__  
><em>_You pray (pray!) for salvation__  
><em>_'cause your heart is made of stone__  
><em>_You can die and rot alone__  
><em>  
>It was time for Naruto's guitar solo, and Kiba was also doing a really intense drum session for that part. It was really good – those two really worked well together. Sasuke was just enjoying the music and the energy, finding Naruto amazing as usual. But as the solo was coming to an end, he saw someone in the crowd; someone that wasn't cheering with the others, someone that was glaring at him and freaking him out. And it troubled him so much that he almost forgot to sing. It was by pure reflex since they had practiced so many times that he brought the mike to his lips and sang the last part.<p>

_This time you won't be heard__  
><em>_You are gonna burn__  
><em>_It's funny how the table, how the table turns_

_You fake (fake!) god damnation__  
><em>_You pray (pray!) for salvation__  
><em>_'cause your heart is made of stone__  
><em>_You can die and rot alone_

The fans didn't notice anything of course, but Naruto and Suigetsu seemed to notice something was off. Still, Sasuke kept going until the end.

_You can die and rot alone__  
><em>_Just die and rot alone!_

_This time you won't be heard__  
><em>_(this time you won't be heard)__  
><em>_This time you won't be heard_

The show cut to the last commercial break, but the fans kept on cheering, and the hosts, producers and well, the whole team working on this show were also clapping and thanking them warmly. Karin and Ino were all smiles as they joined them. Apparently it had been a success.

Karin threw herself in Kiba's arms, but then quickly regained her composure as she remembered they had to keep their private lives secret. The hosts and producers thanked them over and over again, and wished them a good show the next day. The fans were going crazier by the second, and Kiba and Suigetsu went to sign a few autographs. As for Naruto, he was looking at Sasuke questioningly.

"What's wrong?"

But Sasuke barely heard him; he was glancing everywhere around them, trying to spot the familiar face again. But he was gone. He couldn't see him anywhere.

"What is it?" Naruto asked him again.

"I saw Haku"

TBC

Songs:

Tears don't fall, by Bullet for my valentine

Stronger, by Dead by April

Alone, by Bullet for my valentine

A/N: For their favourite bands and music I had to mention different bands than the ones I'm using the lyrics from, otherwise it would've been too weird in my opinion… And also I'm aware it doesn't make sense that those bands would be their inspirations and favourites lol; this is taking place in Japan... But oh well I'm not going to lie I don't know Japanese music that well... Sorry about that.

I hope you enjoyed chapter 3!


	4. Euphoria

Chidori

Chapter 4 – Euphoria

Security had led them back to the car and their driver, and they were now enjoying a well deserved rest. In the back Suigetsu was sleeping on Ino's shoulder, and Kiba was also asleep, resting his head on his folded arm on the window frame. Karin was sitting in the passenger's seat.

"Sasuke?" Naruto whispered.

The raven turned to look at him, "Hmm?"

"Are you sure it was him?"

Naruto's only interaction with Haku had happened a while ago, when he had only just started dating Sasuke, but it was still fresh in his memory and he found the cross dresser guy really weird and scary.

"Yeah I'm sure," Sasuke replied.

"Well, do you think he lives in the area now? Or do you think he came all the way here just to see you?"

Naruto really hoped it wasn't the latter.

"He probably moved here. There are good schools and universities around, and he was always talking about leaving Konoha."

Naruto nodded slowly, "Yeah that makes sense I guess. Just like Gaara and Lee…"

"What?"

"I told you last week!" Naruto pretended to be offended, "You never listen to me!" he added in an exaggerated dramatic voice.

Sasuke chuckled, "Sorry. So Gaara and Lee live in Nagoya now?"

"Yeah!"

"We're still hanging out with them tonight?" Ino asked and it woke Suigetsu up.

"Sorry," he muttered when he realized he had slept on her shoulder.

"It's okay," she smiled.

"Of course we're still going to see them!" the blond exclaimed enthusiastically.

Karin turned around, "Don't party too much or anything though. You have another interview tomorrow morning, and then I guess I don't need to remind you but it's sound check and the show."

"Don't worry Karin, we won't come back too late I promise!" Naruto said as if he were a kid talking to his parents.

They arrived at the hotel and after getting out of the car Naruto decided to call Gaara just to make sure their plans were still working.

"Hey Naruto"

"Hey!" Naruto grinned even though Gaara couldn't see him, "What's up?"

"We just saw you guys on tv, it's kinda fucked up."

Naruto heard Lee's loud voice through the phone.

"Fucked up? No! It was amazing! They're the best band ever! The power of youth! I can't wait for the show tomorrow!"

"Lee, shut up," Gaara's voice said.

Naruto was laughing and now he really couldn't wait to see them. So they simply confirmed the place and time and hung up.

Naruto and Ino hurried to their respective rooms to refresh themselves a little and get ready.

Kimiko and Takumi weren't there, so Naruto just got changed in the middle of the room. He jumped slightly when the door opened, but it was Sasuke.

"Hey," Naruto smiled, "you need to get changed, too?"

He was sick of wearing damn skinny jeans in this hot weather, so he had decided to change into comfier clothes; grey knee-length baggy shorts that hung low on his hips and a loose orange sleeveless shirt. He also put on black flip flops and dark orange sunglasses.

Sasuke didn't answer his question; instead he reached for him with his hands and pulled him closer, his fingers forming circles on the soft tan skin of Naruto's hips.

"We could just stay here…"

"Stop being an antisocial bastard Sasuke," Naruto replied teasingly as he pulled away.

But Sasuke caught him again and kissed the so delicious full pink lips. He didn't feel like going to see Gaara and Lee. He would see them the next day at the show anyway. A loud knock interrupted their kiss. Sasuke tried to keep Naruto in his arms, but he escaped to go open the door.

It was Ino, now wearing a light green summer dress and matching high heel sandals.

"You ready?" she looked at them excitedly.

"Yeah!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Actually," Sasuke said, "I think I'm just gonna stay here… You guys go…"

"Why?" Ino asked sadly.

Naruto just brushed it off and came to kiss him softly.

"It's okay. I'll see you later then."

"Yeah," the raven smiled.

"Kiba's not coming either," Ino said, "He says he's too tired."

"Well, looks like it's just you and me darling!" Naruto exclaimed as he went to take Ino's hand.

"Bye Sasuke!" she glanced back one last time and then they were gone.

Sasuke went to close the door, and then he sat on the bed with his laptop. He put on his favourite metal selection and connected on internet. He smiled when he saw that Itachi was online. He talked with him a bit, and then he picked up the notebook Naruto had given him as a birthday present.

He hadn't written anything in a few weeks, and that bothered him. And now, even with his favourite music playing and all those pictures of Naruto and him, nothing… He just wasn't inspired, and he didn't know why, or how to fix it. He hadn't told the others; besides it was no big deal since they had just started touring and it wasn't the time to learn new songs anyway. The only person he had told was Itachi, and he had reassured him, saying that it was normal and that it would surely come back very soon.

Suddenly he heard a familiar feminine voice and the door opened to Kimiko, her boyfriend Takumi, and Hiroshi. She was laughing and the two guys were smiling, carrying bags of food apparently.

"Oh hey Sasuke!" she exclaimed, running and jumping on the bed next to him to kiss his cheek. "What are you doing?"

"Nothing," he whispered, closing his laptop and putting the notebook back in his suitcase under some neatly folded clothes.

"Close the door," Hiroshi suddenly said.

Takumi, who was standing the closest to the door, tried to close it on time but it was too late; Kabuto had seen them.

"Oh, hey guys. Sasuke, how were the interviews?"

"I think it went well," he shrugged slightly, standing.

"Good! Anyway I'm gonna go have dinner with a friend of mine. As for you guys, I know I'm not your father or anything, but you should all get a good night's sleep."

"Damn right you're not our father," Hiroshi said.

"Don't listen to him Kabuto-san!" Kimiko exclaimed, walking up to their silver-haired manager with a sweet smile, "We'll be good I promise! Have a good dinner!"

"Thanks," he smiled and walked away.

This time she hurried to close the door, and she turned back to look at the three guys.

"Ugh, he can be so annoying sometimes!" she laughed.

Takumi and Hiroshi started putting the contents of their grocery bags on the bed. Sasuke went to stand closer to take a look, and he raised a brow, amused. There were a lot of bags of potato chips, and various other snacks, but mainly there were a lot of bottles of alcohol.

"How old are you guys?" he asked.

"Taku and I are both 19, but Hiro's 22 so that's how we got all this good stuff," Kimiko explained, smiling mischievously as she picked up a bottle of sake.

"So where's your hot piece of ass of a boyfriend?" Hiroshi asked him.

Sasuke glared at him, "You want me to break your nose for real this time or what?"

"It's just too easy to get a reaction out of you man," he chuckled, "I was just kidding. We saw him leave with that blonde girl on our way here."

"Hiro's right you know Sasuke you really need to relax," Kimiko laughed, "We all do! With the show tomorrow… Oh my God I'm so stressed out!"

"You say that every time, but you're always amazing," Takumi reassured her.

"Aww thank you baby," she put her arms around his thin waist and hugged him.

Hiroshi picked up some of the bottles and made his way to the door, "I'm going to Yoshi's room…"

"Wait for us!" Kimiko exclaimed, pulling away from her boyfriend, "Damn you're so impatient!" she laughed.

She picked up the rest of the stuff and Takumi helped her, and they followed him in the hallway. Sasuke stayed behind, shaking his head in disbelief. Naruto was right; they really were kind of weird, but at least they were amusing.

"Sasuke!" he heard Kimiko scream his name from the hallway, "Get your ass over here! Now!"

The next instant she appeared in the doorway. She had probably dropped her things in the other room and ran back to him, because she was out of breath.

"Come on!" she insisted.

"Yeah hum… I'm not sure this is such a good idea Kimi."

Her big dark eyes widened, "Oh no! No way! I'm not letting you stay here sulking all alone!"

"I'm not sulking," he chuckled, but he was starting to give in.

"Come on!" she repeated, and this time she walked up to him and grabbed his arm.

He was obviously stronger than her but he let himself be dragged anyway. What was the worst that could happen?

- Chidori –

Once the four of them were seated around a table on the terrace of a nice restaurant, Naruto took the time to look at his friends properly. He hadn't seen them in a while, and they had changed quite a bit. Gaara still looked the same actually; it was Lee who had changed the most. Well physically at least; his famous craziness was still the same.

"Your hair looks really nice Lee," Ino smiled.

His black hair was no longer styled in a bowl haircut; instead it was a little longer with some layers in it. If Naruto had to be honest, he'd say it made him look less retarded.

"Thank you Ino-chan! It was Gaara's idea! I also think it's nice! You look nice too! And you too, Naruto! I'm so glad to see you guys! It's been forever! Hey, I think we should order a beer pitcher to celebrate!"

"You really want to drink, Lee?" Gaara asked, amused.

"Just a little bit," he pleaded.

Naruto laughed, "You know, you guys haven't changed at all. But I'm glad."

"You're different though," Gaara replied, "and… you have emo hair."

"That's because of a stupid photo shoot," Naruto said running his fingers through his unnaturally sleek hair, and then replacing his sunglasses on top of his head.

Their waitress arrived and they ordered food and beer, and while they waited they continued to talk.

"You guys are gonna go to uni in September?" Ino asked, her head resting in her hand as she looked at them.

"Yes! I'm so excited!" Lee exclaimed.

"To Nagoya University," Gaara explained, "Lee in education…"

"I want to be a gym teacher!"

"I think this will be just the perfect job for you," Ino laughed.

"And I've been accepted in medicine," Gaara finished his sentence.

Naruto's blue eyes widened, as well as his smile as he looked at his friend, "That's great Gaara! That's… wow, that's awesome!"

The waitress returned with the beer pitcher, and she poured it in four glasses. They thanked her and when she was gone they knocked their glasses together and drank as a toast for Gaara's success.

"So how are things with your father?" Naruto asked.

The red-head sighed, "Well he's paying for my education. But he still won't talk to me."

"Just because you're gay?" Ino asked, shaking her head in disbelief, "Just like Sasuke's father. What is it with those wealthy men and their damn retarded way of thinking?"

"Well in Sasuke's case it's not just because he's gay," Naruto corrected her, "it's because he didn't go to uni…"

"It's still retarded," Ino said sadly, before taking a sip of her beer.

"Well, what my father doesn't know," Gaara continued, "is that I'm using part of his money to pay for Lee's studies as well."

"And I'll never thank you enough for it…" the black-haired guy said, proving that even he could be serious sometimes.

Their food arrived soon after and they were quiet for a moment as they started eating. They also ordered another pitcher. They talked about various things; Lee being the most talkative, mainly discussing the classes he would take at school, the fact that he missed his family but was still very happy to live in an apartment with Gaara, and also how he liked Chidori's record and listened to it all the time.

"It's true," Gaara sighed, "all the time…"

"Well at least he has good taste!" Naruto exclaimed half-teasing, making the others laugh.

When they were all finished eating they ordered a third pitcher, and even at sunset they kept on talking and laughing together.

Eventually though they had to leave, and after Naruto had paid for the meal, Lee suggested that they come see their apartment.

"We can't stay too long though," Naruto said, standing, "It's the show tomorrow, after all!"

"Yes!" Lee exclaimed, his voice clearly showing that he was drunk, "It's gonna be awesome! I can't wait! It's gonna be… awesome!" he almost fell but Gaara put Lee's arm around his shoulders to help him walk.

Ino and Naruto laughed, a little drunk themselves, as they followed them to Gaara's car. Having drunk only one glass of beer, he was fine to drive. Lee insisted that they put Chidori's music in the car.

"I wasn't kidding," Gaara chuckled, "all the freakin' time," he added as he drove towards the apartment he shared with his boyfriend, situated in a more quiet and residential area of town.

Naruto burst out laughing as Lee started singing the lyrics of the songs. Ino was also laughing; their hyperactive drunken friend was quite a sight.

The apartment was small but comfortable, with two bedrooms, a living room and a kitchen, and a small bathroom. They took place in the living room and Naruto glanced at the decoration. There were a few picture frames here and there; one of Gaara and Lee, one of Gaara with Kankuro and Temari, and one of Gaara, Lee, Temari and Shikamaru. He thought it was cool to have pictures decorating the room like that, and he made a note to self to do this with Sasuke when they would be back in their apartment in Tokyo.

The first thing Gaara did was get Lee a glass of water. Then they sat in front of Ino and Naruto and continued their conversation. But most of the time their sentences got interrupted by Lee's random outbursts. It didn't matter; they were laughing together and having a good time.

At one point though Ino became very depressed; it started with a simple innocent question from Gaara…

"So, since Naruto can't stop talking about how wonderful his boyfriend is, I know it's going great between them, but…"

"Hey I'm not that bad!" Naruto protested, laughing.

Gaara chuckled and continued, "But what about you Ino? How's it going with Suigetsu?"

"Oh, hum, no, we… we broke up a while ago."

"Oh, I'm sorry I didn't know."

"It was the right thing to do," she said, but she sounded like she was trying to convince herself, "He didn't really love me… And he was always flirting with other girls… and boys sometimes," she chuckled.

"What?" Gaara and Naruto asked at the same time.

"Suigetsu's bisexual," she said with a sad smile, "I never told anyone because, well, I figured it wasn't my secret to tell."

"Well now that I think about it, I guess it was kind of obvious…" Naruto admitted.

"But that's not the reason why you dumped him?" Gaara asked, confused.

"No! Of course not!" she exclaimed, "It's because I could see he didn't really love me. And… he'd rather be with Karin than me, anyway. But she's already taken so he was staying with me… Anyway…" she closed her eyes and wiped her tears, "I'm sorry guys," she said, her voice breaking a little, "I don't know why I'm saying all this…"

"It's okay," Naruto put his arms around her to comfort her, and she buried her face in his chest, sobbing quietly.

"I'm so sorry you guys," she repeated, "I just… I guess I drank a little bit too much and now… I'm sorry…"

"It's okay Ino just calm down," Naruto said softly. "Well, I guess we'll go…"

"Is she gonna be okay?" Lee asked with big, worried eyes.

"Yeah," Naruto reassured him, "we're just really tired."

"I can drive you back to your hotel," Gaara suggested, already standing with his car keys in his hands.

"You sure?" Naruto asked, and the red-head nodded, "Ah thank you so much man I appreciate."

He was a bit tired of taking cabs all the time. Besides, with Ino crying in his arms, it was better if a friend drove them back. Naruto really missed having his own car with him sometimes, but it couldn't be helped since they were on tour.

After telling Naruto how excited he was about the upcoming show, Lee went to bed, and Gaara followed them outside to his car. The drive back to the hotel was pretty much quiet, but at least Ino had calmed down a bit.

"I'm sorry I ruined the evening," she said in a little voice.

"Stop apologizing!" Naruto exclaimed on a cheerful tone, "We had a good time and it was getting really late anyway! And you know you can't hold it in forever, that's what friends are for."

"Thank you Naruto," she smiled. "And thank you Gaara, he's right, we had a really good time."

"Yeah me too, I miss our old gang, you know," Gaara said with a nostalgic smile.

"Yeah," Naruto agreed.

They spent the rest of the drive sharing memories of all their times together, all the parties and all the stupid and funny things they had done.

Before getting out of the car Naruto made sure that Gaara had his VIP tickets for their show, and after that he put his arm around Ino's shoulders, leading her back to the hotel. Checking his cell, he saw that it was already 2:30 am. Time had gone by so fast! Right before getting inside Naruto thought he heard some camera clicks, and Ino's slight frown revealed that she had heard it too. He opened the door for her and they hurried inside.

"What was that?" she asked, worried, "People taking pictures of us?"

"That's weird…" Naruto frowned, "I mean I'm not _that_ famous, am I?"

"I don't know… I guess we shouldn't worry about it too much," she said as they stepped in the elevator.

"I guess," he nodded.

- Chidori -

It was only 7 pm and Sasuke was already starting to get drunk. And his friends weren't in a much better state…

"Kimi!" Suigetsu pleaded for the third time as he lay on the bed next to Kiba, "I want more sake!"

"It's mine!" she protested, laughing, as she took another sip directly from the bottle, "Just go buy your own!"

"But I'm not twenty yet!" he whined.

"I have another one!" Yoshikazu exclaimed, placing himself in the middle of the room, "I never… had sex with three girls at the same time. Oh wait… never mind I already did that!" he laughed at his own stupid joke and emptied his beer.

"What a douche," Sasuke muttered, rolling his eyes.

The blue-haired guy turned to look at him, "What was that emo boy?"

Takumi, who was sitting on the floor next to Sasuke, chuckled as he looked up at his band mate, "I thought emo boy was my nickname."

"Oh, right, well then you're emo boy number 2," he told Sasuke.

"Oh my God is that really the best you can do Yoshi?" Hiroshi, for once on Sasuke's side, stepped in, "Cause it's pretty fucking lame."

"Man I'm drunk just leave me alone," he replied.

"Fine but can I have another beer?" Hiroshi asked.

"Sure," Yoshikazu opened the mini fridge and threw him another bottle.

"Thanks!" the long-haired guy exclaimed and returned to sit on his bed.

"No fair, I want beer too," Kiba muttered.

"Then just move your ass and get us some," Suigetsu pushed him off the bed.

Everyone laughed as Kiba crawled his way to the fridge to get beer. Meanwhile, Kimiko was still pacing around the room with her bottle of sake in her hands.

"I never…" she started, "had sex in a car!"

Sasuke picked up the bottle of sake that was hidden behind his back and drank some of it, while Suigetsu, Kiba, Yoshikazu and Hiroshi also drank.

"How come you never did that?" Suigetsu asked Kimiko.

She just shrugged and laughed, and then Kiba apparently had another idea.

"I never… had sex in my parents' bedroom!"

"Ugh Kiba what the hell?" Suigetsu laughed.

"Yeah man who would do that?" Hiroshi exclaimed, but then he stared – just like everyone else – as Yoshikazu opened himself another beer and took a few gulps. "Why am I not surprised?"

"What?" he shrugged innocently.

"I never…" Kimiko started, "Oh shit I lost my idea," she laughed, letting herself fall on the bed next to Hiroshi.

"This game is stupid anyway," Sasuke said.

"Maybe you have a better idea emo boy number 2?" Suigetsu asked him.

"You're actually gonna use that nickname?" Sasuke raised a fine black brow.

Takumi got up and went to stand in front of Hiroshi, "Give me your laptop."

"Why?"

"Because you have good music and I want to listen to it."

"Yeah!" Suigetsu exclaimed, "We need music!"

"And we need more girls!" Kiba blurted out randomly, "Yoshi, man, you promised me there would be girls."

"You have a girlfriend you fucking idiot," Sasuke told him.

"Shut up emo boy number 2."

Takumi, who had successfully taken possession of Hiroshi's laptop apparently, returned to his place on the floor next to Sasuke, and he put the computer in front of them.

"I don't want metal Taku!" Kimiko warned him, "I want dance music, got it?"

"Yeah, yeah I know," he said absent-mindedly as he created a selection out of Hiroshi's impressive amount of songs.

A few seconds later loud and catchy dance tunes were playing in the room. Kimiko started dancing, and Suigetsu, Kiba and Yoshikazu went to dance around her. She laughed as she moved her thin body seductively to the beat. She undid her ponytail and shook her head rock n roll style and the three guys around her cheered, clearly appreciating her moves.

Sasuke and Takumi just kept drinking their sake, passing the bottle to each other, and resting their heads on the wall behind them.

"You guys want to go outside?" Hiroshi suddenly asked everyone.

"Yes!" Kimiko exclaimed.

Takumi stopped the music and they stopped their dancing, and Kimiko put her arms around both Kiba and Yoshikazu's waists as they started walking, following Hiroshi. She screamed and laughed when Yoshi grabbed her ass playfully. Suigetsu, Sasuke and Takumi followed.

Sasuke felt light-headed and uncaring, he was just amused – and conscious of the fact that he was getting drunk. As soon as they were outside Takumi took out a joint and lighted it. They went behind the hotel in a quieter street. Everyone wanted to smoke, so they passed it around, but with seven of them it was finished very quickly, so Takumi lighted another one and passed it to Sasuke first.

Kimiko was smiling, and now clinging only to Kiba she rested her head on his shoulder – Kiba sure wasn't complaining. Sasuke was barely aware of what was being said around him. They were pretty much just shooting random comments once in a while.

"That's some good weed," Yoshikazu told Takumi.

"Hey guys," Kimiko said, "I really like you, like, all of you. I'm really glad we get to be on tour with such an awesome band."

"That's true," Yoshi nodded. "And the two girls touring with you are really cool too… Where are they, by the way?"

"Ino's with Naruto," Sasuke said, "they went to meet some friends…"

"Karin's sleeping," Kiba chuckled, "that girl doesn't know how to have fun…"

"What the fuck man," Suigetsu frowned, "you met her at a freakin' club."

"Yeah but she changed…"

"She's just trying to do her job," Suigetsu argued.

"Aww stop fighting guys!" Kimi stepped in, pouting cutely, and Kiba pulled her closer, smiling.

"All right… Suigetsu, man, we can't fight anymore, you heard her!"

"Anyway, it sucks that Ino's not here though," Yoshi sighed. "Now that girl is hot!"

"Yeah," Suigetsu agreed, "but she's my ex and I still care about her so be careful what you do."

"Fine, fine, jeez man you need to relax," the blue-haired guy chuckled.

"Well, now we're out of weed and out of alcohol," Hiroshi said. "Come on Yoshi let's go buy some more beer."

"Why me?"

"Cause you're 20, now come on."

"Oh, right," he laughed dumbly, "See you guys later!"

"Yeah okay!" Kimiko exclaimed, "We'll go back to your room!"

As they walked they kept on laughing for no apparent reason. Even Sasuke and Takumi were laughing a little; even if most of the time they didn't really know why.

"Kiba you're stepping on my feet!" Kimiko laughed, pushing him away softly, "I think you're drunk."

"I'm not drunk!" he protested, laughing.

Suigetsu suddenly ran towards her, "Come here, you!" and he picked her up bridal style.

She screamed and laughed as she tried to get away. She eventually managed to escape but in the process she made them both fall to the floor. Thankfully at that point they had reached their floor and no one else but those five was in the hallway to see this rather pathetic scene.

Takumi helped Kimiko up and Sasuke helped Suigetsu. They were all still laughing when they returned inside the room.

Kimiko opened Hiroshi's computer again, but she couldn't find his password. She tried all sorts of stupid things, making them laugh even more.

"Maybe "Ilovedicks"… No, it didn't work. Oh, maybe I should try "Isuckcocks"… no it didn't work either…"

They suddenly heard knocking on the door and they all tensed. They tensed even more when they heard Karin's voice.

"Not good, not good," Suigetsu kept saying.

"Just go talk to her Sasuke, she's never mad at you," Kiba pushed him towards the door.

"I hate you," Sasuke muttered as he glanced back at the brunet – well, half red-head now.

He opened the door just a little bit, barely enough so that she could see his face.

"What's going on here?" she asked.

"Nothing," he said.

"I was sleeping and I heard noises…"

"It's nothing, Karin, don't worry okay?" he insisted.

"All right," she tried to glance behind him, but he closed the door even more. "Good night then, just remember you have an interview tomorrow morning okay?"

"I know," he said, trying to sound as sober as possible.

When she left he closed the door and sat/fell on the bed next to Suigetsu and Kiba.

"You should win an oscar dude," Kiba told him, laughing.

Takumi eventually just took the computer from Kimiko's hands and typed in the password.

"You knew it all this time you bastard!" she exclaimed, but then her expression became curious, "What is it? I want to know! I want to know! Please!"

"It's a secret," he said. "Now what music do you want?"

"Hum…" she hesitated, "Oh, I want Like a G6!"

"Yeah, good choice Kimi!" Suigetsu smiled, "that song rocks."

"Yeah that song is awesome," Kiba nodded, and he tried to get up from the bed but he fell to the floor instead, "Ouch."

"You know what would be even more awesome?" Kimiko asked, looking at each of them with a mischievous smile.

She reached for her bag and took out a tiny plastic bag with white pills in it. Sasuke had a pretty good idea what it was.

"I have five left," she said, "it's perfect!"

"But Yoshi and Hiroshi…" Suigetsu started.

"They'll be fine with their beer," she laughed, "trust me."

Sasuke wasn't sure it was such a good idea. He really didn't want Naruto to know he had done drugs again. With his father being a politician and all Naruto was really against those kinds of things, and he didn't want to get into a fight with him.

Kimiko seemed to be reading his thoughts, "It's just 9:30 right now," she said. "The effects only last a couple hours, like three or four, max. No one will know."

"I'm in," Suigetsu said, taking one, and Kiba imitated him.

They took the ecstasy pills with what was left of the sake, and Kimiko and Takumi imitated them. The last pill was for Sasuke.

"I'm not forcing you," Kimiko smiled, tilting her head to the side, "I know I shouldn't have done it last time."

"Yeah," he whispered. But he really _wanted_ it. "Just give me the bottle," he told Takumi, who chuckled lightly and willingly passed it to him.

He closed his eyes as he put the little pill on his tongue and took a few gulps of the strong liquor. He gave the sake back to Takumi and returned to lie down next to Suigetsu. Kiba was still sitting on the floor with his head resting on the side of the bed.

"I think I'm already feeling it," he said dumbly.

"Hum, it's not _that _fast Kiba," Kimiko teased him.

A few minutes later Hiroshi and Yoshikazu came back with a pack of beers. As they put them in the fridge they finally noticed the others were a little bit too relaxed.

"You took E again?" Hiroshi asked Kimiko.

"We all did," Takumi shrugged as he looked up at him.

"You little fuckers!" Yoshi exclaimed but he was laughing, "And you didn't leave us any!"

"Nope," Suigetsu mocked.

"Well I'm not giving you any beer!"

"What about me can I have some?" Kiba asked.

"Sure," Yoshi handed him a bottle.

"Oh come on don't be an ass man I want one too," Suigetsu pleaded.

"Don't you think you've had enough already?" Hiroshi laughed as he opened himself one.

"I'll be hangover anyway," Suigetsu whispered, "So I don't care."

"Here, we'll share then," Hiroshi said as he sat on the bed next to Suigetsu.

The latter sat up and thanked him as he handed him his beer. The drug was already starting to have some effect on Sasuke. The dance music was filling him and he closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them again, the lights of the hotel room seemed to be dancing all around him. Actually everything seemed to be moving around him. He sat up slowly and locked eyes with Takumi.

"Could you put some real music?" he said and his voice sounded different.

"Sure," Takumi smirked.

The next instant the dance music was gone, replaced by some Children of bodom. Sasuke's dark eyes widened as he recognized one of his favourite songs, and the melodies were just so amazing that he wanted to lose himself in them – and at that moment it seemed possible, everything seemed possible.

"Ah thank you man," he told Takumi, "that's fucking good."

"You should thank Hiroshi," the raven-haired guy smiled, "it's his metal selection."

"Oh," Sasuke said, glancing at the long-haired guy who was still drinking beer with Suigetsu, "hey man sorry about your face… I'm so sorry I don't even know why I did that."

"It's okay," Hiroshi shrugged, "it makes me look though."

It wasn't that bad, he just had some bluish marks on his left cheek. But still, at that moment Sasuke felt bad and he wanted to apologize.

"We should play truth or dare," Kimiko said suddenly, and she stood up to go sit on the other bed.

"Yeah okay cool," Yoshi nodded enthusiastically.

"You start then Kimi," Kiba said, climbing on the bed next to her.

"Okay," she smiled, "Hiro, truth or dare?"

"Dare," he said, downing the rest of his beer in one go as if anticipating it would be something though or embarrassing.

"Well," she said slowly, still smiling, "I dare you to choose the guy you think is the hottest in this room, and French kiss him."

"That's a fun dare," Hiroshi laughed lightly, "hmm let's see…" his gaze lingered on Kiba and Yoshi for just a second, "yeah no I hate kissing straight guys they really don't know what they're doing…"

"That's because they don't want to kiss you back, you fucking idiot," Kiba said, making Yoshi laugh.

"Well said my friend."

Kimiko was getting impatient, "Well have you made your choice?"

"Yeah I think so…" Hiroshi smiled and turned his head so that he was face to face with Suigetsu.

Sasuke watched in shock as his best friend's lips met Hiroshi's. And Suigetsu was actually _enjoying_ it. The silver-haired boy was the first to pull away slightly from the kiss, but only so that he could use his tongue to lick Hiroshi's lips and enter his mouth.

"I'm gonna puke…" Kiba muttered.

"Then just don't watch!" Kimiko laughed as she put her arms around Kiba and pulled him closer.

When they finally pulled away Suigetsu's violet eyes were half-closed and Hiroshi seemed very surprised and pleased.

"Well, you're a really good kisser," he said and Suigetsu smirked.

"So I've been told. But that was my first time kissing a guy, to tell you the truth."

"Really?" Hiroshi raised a brow, "well I'm glad I had this honour," he laughed lightly, then glanced around the room, "Okay… my turn. Takumi!"

"Yeah?" the guitarist seemed to have just been brought out of his thoughts, and a small smile lingered on his lips.

"Well, truth or dare?"

"…Truth."

"Do you mind that Kimi always flirts with a bunch of guys?"

"Nah just the flirting I don't really care," he chuckled.

Hiroshi glared, "I meant the kissing and the other things too and you know it."

"It's just one question sorry, rules of the game," Takumi shrugged in a helpless manner.

"Of course he doesn't mind!" Kimiko let go of Kiba to throw herself on the other bed, hitting Hiroshi on the shoulder playfully, "you bastard. He knows it means nothing."

"My turn," Takumi's hazel eyes locked with Sasuke's, "Sasuke. Truth or dare?"

Sasuke felt so good that he couldn't care less about this stupid game. A state of well-being and blissful ignorance and uncaring for the rest of the world was filling him. But he decided to play along anyway.

"Dare."

"Oh, I thought you'd say truth," he said, chuckling, "well hum… I'll just steal Kimi's idea I guess," he said and Kimiko and Hiroshi laughed.

Sasuke tilted his head to the side, confused, "What?"

"You know, choose a guy and kiss him," Takumi shrugged slightly as he rolled his head back on the wall behind him.

Sasuke realized he actually felt like doing it. He longed for physical contact, and he just felt so damn good, and this just felt so damn right, and nothing else could possibly matter at that moment.

He didn't even hesitate. He got up only to sit on the floor next to Takumi. The latter's beautiful hazel eyes widened a bit but then he smiled and tilted his head slightly. Sasuke didn't lose any more time; he kissed Takumi's full, soft lips passionately. He even put his arm around his thin body, pulling him closer. Takumi did the same, and soon they were making out.

"Oh shit!" Yoshi was saying.

"That's hot," Hiroshi commented.

"Yeah!" Kimiko agreed dreamily.

"What the fuck," Suigetsu was laughing.

Sasuke barely heard them. He just felt so damn good in this guy's arms, and he didn't want it to stop. When they did pull away for air, they stayed closer to each other, with Takumi's arm still around him. Sasuke pressed himself even closer, longing for more physical contact and affection. The metal music still playing was filling his mind again, and he felt so good and smiled for absolutely no reason, but he just felt like smiling.

As for Kimiko, she was sitting in between Suigetsu and Hiroshi, and those three were also really close to one another. Yoshi was still standing in the corner of the room with his beer, and Kiba was still alone on the bed.

"Well," he said, "there really aren't enough girls in this party!"

"Just wait 'til tomorrow Kiba, you'll see," Yoshi smirked.

"Hmm I can't wait…"

"It's your turn Sasuke," Hiroshi told him after a moment of silence filled only by the music.

He chuckled and rolled his head on Takumi's shoulder, "Whatever… Who cares…?" he muttered, making the others laugh.

- Chidori -

When they stopped in front of Ino's door she asked him if he wanted to sleep with her, and at first he was confused.

"Just like we used to do before," she smiled, "you know, sleepovers. I think Kabuto's gone to sleep at his friend's place tonight, so Karin will be alone in there. I'm a hundred percent sure Hiroshi's spending the night in his friends' room. So we can have one of the beds to ourselves and, you know, just talk a little bit and then go to sleep."

She seemed so sad and vulnerable, and Naruto knew that her breakdown earlier wasn't completely finished yet. She probably still needed to talk about it and empty her heart, and Naruto really wanted to be there for her.

Except he was extremely tired, and he wanted nothing more than to go sleep in his boyfriend's arms. She saw that he was hesitating.

"Never mind," she said with a little smile, trying to appear strong, "You should go back to your room to have a good night's sleep, well, for what's left of it anyway. It's the show tomorrow!"

"Yeah, I'm sorry Ino," he said sincerely, "We'll do it another time, 'kay? I promise. When I'm not on the verge of falling asleep right there on the floor…"

"I know what you mean," she sighed, "I think we're all really tired."

"Yeah… Good night!"

"'Night!" she smiled and went inside her room.

Naruto sighed and walked towards his own room. He really was exhausted, and each step was excruciating.

When he opened the door the first thing he noticed was that there were clothes everywhere in the room. He figured these were probably Kimiko and Takumi's clothes. He went straight to the other bed, but there was no one in it. Confused, he glanced back behind him, and he gasped.

"What the…"

He hadn't looked properly before, but now that he did he could see that the three others were sleeping together. Takumi was spooning _Sasuke_, and the latter was himself spooning Kimiko. And they were all in their underwear.

Naruto's mind went blank. He didn't know if he should scream, cry, or… he just didn't know. Just what the fuck was happening? Why was Sasuke sleeping with them?

He ran his fingers through his hair shakily, glanced away, and then he stormed out of the room.

TBC

Please have no fear, as always, I will update in a few days. Actually the next chapter is already written, but this one is so long that I don't want to update two at once. But if you guys review telling me that you want the next one like, right now, well I'll do as you ask!


	5. Aftermath

Chidori

Chapter 5 – Aftermath

"Ino?" he asked softly as he knocked on the door.

"Naruto?" she frowned, confused, when she opened it. She had already changed into her night clothes; tiny pyjama shorts and a tank top. "Is everything okay?" she asked more urgently, suddenly worried.

"I… I don't know…"

"Come in," she took him by the arm and closed the door behind them. "Karin's sleeping so we'll have to be quiet. But we can talk," she said as they sat on the bed.

"I think," he started, his voice hesitant and shaky, "I think Sasuke just cheated on me."

"What!" she whispered, shocked.

Naruto told her what he had just seen, and she wrapped her arms around him comfortingly.

"Oh no," she said in a little voice, "but I can't believe Sasuke would do that… You should wait and ask him in the morning, okay?"

"Yeah… can I stay here tonight?"

"Of course!" she smiled as they pulled away, "We really should try to get some sleep. Karin's gonna wake us up really early again."

"I wish I'd wake up and this would all be a nightmare," he chuckled darkly, tears forming into his eyes.

He glanced away to hide his face from Ino, and then he stripped to his boxers and crawled under the sheets on the other side of the bed. Soon he heard Ino's even breathing, added to Karin's. It took Naruto more time to fall asleep though, and he was crying and making up all the possible scenarios in his mind – and he didn't like any of them…

- Chidori -

Sasuke opened his eyes very slowly. He wasn't feeling well at all, and he was afraid to move.

He saw a tan and toned chest in front of him, but then he looked up slightly and saw raven hair. He also realized his own pale arm was encircling the guy's thin waist.

The information took some time to process in his confused and hangover mind. But when it finally did he rolled to his other side and pressed a hand to his painful head. This woke Takumi up.

"What the…" he muttered in a rasp voice.

"Fuck," Sasuke finished for him, sitting up painfully.

"What time is it?" Takumi asked.

Sasuke glanced around at the extremely messed up room. Even his own clothes were scattered everywhere. But he spotted his cell phone that had fallen just beside his pants. He got up to take it, and then fell back on the bed.

"Shit. 1:15… I was supposed to go to a stupid interview this morning. Karin's gonna kill me."

He had many missed calls from Karin, Kabuto and Suigetsu, and also one from Naruto.

Naruto. What if he'd come back during the night and seen him in Takumi's arms?

"Shit," he said again, hitting his head – even though this really didn't help his headache. "Fuck, how did we… how did we end up…?"

Takumi shrugged and hugged his knees, "I don't know… Do you remember anything?"

"Not really," he sighed, "do you think we…"

He had to ask. Even though the mere idea of cheating on Naruto horrified him…

"No," he shook his head slightly, "we'd know."

"Right," Sasuke sighed again, relieved this time.

Takumi was right; if they'd had sex, they'd know it. Besides, wasn't that guy straight? Or was everyone bisexual now?

"But I think we kissed," Takumi said, bringing Sasuke out of his dark-humoured thoughts. "I'm really sorry."

"Why?" he snapped, and then softened his voice, "it's not your fault."

Takumi just went quiet, a sad expression on his livid face. He let himself fall to the side, his back facing Sasuke, and he grabbed a pillow to press it against his chest.

"You okay?" Sasuke asked.

"No, you?"

"...Not really," Sasuke admitted. "Hey where's Kimi anyway?"

"I don't know."

Takumi, apparently unable to fall back to sleep, picked up the remote and opened the television. Sasuke's onyx eyes widened as he saw Naruto and Suigetsu on screen.

"So are you guys excited for tonight's show?" the journalist asked, pointing his mike towards Naruto.

"Of course, yeah! Shows are such a rush; they're the best moments, when all your hard work finally pays off. You just see all the fans screaming… it's amazing."

He seemed a little tired, but he looked good; his hair was messy and spiky as usual, but there were now reddish high lights in them. He was wearing baggy black shorts and a large green t-shirt with the words "This shirt is only green when I'm thinking about sex" written on it. Sasuke knew these clothes weren't Naruto's. So maybe he hadn't come back to their hotel room to get his stuff…

Or maybe he'd come back, but seen Sasuke sleeping with someone else and left, not wanting to come back again…

Unfortunately the latter was more plausible, and it made Sasuke's heart sank.

"What about you, Suigetsu-kun?" the interview was continuing.

"I have to agree with Naruto! I really can't wait. I love being on stage, and I love the energy the fans give us."

Takumi, seeing the anxious and pained expression on his friend's face, turned it off.

"Didn't you say the interview was this morning?"

"Yeah… I'm gonna call Karin."

Sasuke dialed her number, and she picked up after only one ring.

"Sasuke? Is everything all right?"

"More or less…"

"What's going on? I was so worried! We all were. You weren't answering your phone, and neither were Takumi or Kimiko. And Naruto forgot his key inside your room, and everything was just such a mess… Kiba is sick, and only Naruto and Suigetsu could do the interview…"

"Yeah I just saw them on tv…"

"We rescheduled it a little later without too many problems," she explained, "and it's going okay. Of course they were disappointed when you didn't show up, but I think in the end it's gonna be okay. Just tell me you're gonna be okay to perform tonight?"

"Yeah I mean I have to…"

"Thank God," she sighed through the phone. "Your voice sounds weird though. Just make sure you drink a lot of water, maybe some tea…"

"Yeah I'll be fine for tonight," he reassured her, although he realized his voice did sound a bit rasped.

"Okay. Sound check's at 4. Kabuto'll pick you and Kiba up at the hotel."

"Okay… Karin?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry."

"… Just what the hell happened last night?"

Takumi chuckled beside him, "Very good question she's got there."

"Who was that?" Karin asked.

"I'll see you later Karin," he said, and hung up.

He got up and stumbled to the bathroom, where he threw up in the sink.

"You okay?" Takumi asked, worried.

"Do I look fucking okay?" Sasuke muttered before brushing his teeth.

"I meant… are you gonna survive?"

"I guess," he said when he was done rinsing his mouth.

The door suddenly opened and they both looked as Kimiko got in, followed by Hiroshi, Yoshikazu and Kiba.

"Oh, see, they're already up," she laughed, glancing at Yoshi, "you won't be able do your evil plan."

"I wanted to film you guys as you were sleeping together," he explained, "and then wake you up and see your reaction. I could've so blackmailed you with that!"

"How nice," Takumi said sarcastically, while Sasuke was glaring at the blue-haired guy with murderous intent.

"You told Karin you were sick?" he asked Kiba after a moment of silence.

"I _am_ sick," he whined as he sat in one of the armchairs. "Hey could you like, put some clothes on?"

Sasuke suddenly realized he was still just wearing his boxers.

"Or you can stay like this," Hiroshi smiled teasingly as he checked him out, "hmm you're a little bit too skinny for me though."

"Shame," Sasuke muttered sarcastically, and he went to the back of the room to get some clean boxers and skinny jeans from his suitcase. He went to the bathroom to take a shower and get changed.

The water was soothing, and he stayed in the shower longer than necessary. He felt disgusting and dirty, and he just wished the shower could wash off all the stupid shit he'd done…

When he was finished it was Takumi's turn to go into the bathroom.

Kiba and Yoshi were talking about the girls they would meet that very evening after the show. As for Kimiko and Hiroshi, who were sitting comfortably on the bed, they both glanced up at him.

"So did you have fun last night?" the caramel-haired girl asked him with a smile.

"It's fun while it lasts," Sasuke replied, "but after you just feel like shit…"

"I'm feeling fine," she shrugged.

Sasuke leaned back on the wall and crossed his arms, "Well good for you."

"Ouch so mean!" She chuckled, "maybe you should eat something, I mean we just came back from the buffet and there was still a lot of food left. You should go with Taku when he's done showering."

"Really?" Kiba suddenly exclaimed loudly, "she said I'm her favorite in the band?"

"Yup!" Yoshikazu replied enthusiastically.

Sasuke raised a brow and glanced back at Hiroshi and Kimiko.

"So you guys actually remember what happened last night?"

"We didn't do anything wrong," Kimiko tilted her head to the side, "well you kissed Taku but you were both completely wasted… And then we came back here and you slept with us… I mean, slept as in really sleeping not… well, you know," she laughed.

"I'm sure you wanted a threesome," Hiroshi teased her.

"You would've wanted it too," she teased back.

"Hmm… but I was already in very good company last night."

"What do you mean?" Sasuke frowned; he couldn't possibly be talking about Suigetsu, could he?

"Suigetsu, me, a bed, do the math."

Apparently he could.

Sasuke suddenly felt sick. Not just physically, but mentally, too. There was only one thing on his mind: Naruto. He wanted to see him, but at the same time he didn't. What would he say? What could he say that would make things right?

He went to his suitcase and picked up a clean, plain black t-shirt, put it on and stormed out of the room. The others called after him, but he ignored them.

He just needed to be alone. He needed to go outside, take a walk, breath some air; anything. He just couldn't stand to be with them at the moment. Maybe he was antisocial after all…

- Chidori -

"I really like my hair Ino," Naruto smiled at her, "Thanks."

"No problem!" She smiled back."

He liked his highlights, even though he'd wanted orange and it turned out more of a copper red tint. But it contrasted with his blond hair nicely.

Wow, he congratulated himself, he had succeeded in thinking about something else than Sasuke for a few seconds…

"They're late," Karin said again.

"Don't worry I'm sure they'll be here any time now," Suigetsu tried to reassure her.

It was 4:05 and the others still hadn't showed up. Naruto and Suigetsu were sitting at the edge of the stage lazily, and the two girls were just standing nearby, Ino with her arms crossed and a slightly worried look in her pale eyes. Karin also looked worried, of course, but it was for a very different reason – the success of the show, of course.

Ino was worried about Naruto, and he knew it. And he felt bad for making her worry so much, but she had been the only one he could talk to. He felt betrayed, and he felt sad that Sasuke hadn't even called him yet. Hell, he hadn't even texted him. Not a word…

"You want to practice again?" he asked Suigetsu.

"Sure," he replied, standing.

They picked up their guitars and started practicing their parts for the first song they would perform for the show. At least it was keeping Naruto's mind from wandering too much… Because he was not sure how long he could control himself not to fall into pieces and cry all the tears in his body…

A few minutes later Kabuto and the members of the Black souls, as well as Sasuke and Kiba, finally made it to the arts center where the show was held.

"Sorry, there was a lot of traffic," Kabuto apologized, "but the important thing is that we're all here now."

Naruto's heart sank at the sight of Sasuke. Suddenly he didn't care anymore that he had found him sleeping with other people. He looked so worn out, so completely empty of energy and so tired and sad that he just wanted to drop his guitar and run to him to hug him tightly.

While Kabuto and Karin were talking, Sasuke's eyes finally looked up and met Naruto's. They held each other's gaze for only a moment, but it was enough for Naruto to see that he felt guilty and hated himself. He knew Sasuke so well now, and he was so easy to read sometimes. But then the raven glanced away and the moment was gone.

Suddenly Suigetsu jumped off the stage and walked straight to Hiroshi. Naruto's blue eyes widened as they smiled to each other and _kissed_. As if it was perfectly normal.

"What the fuck are they doing?" Karin suddenly voiced everyone's thoughts.

"Nothing surprises me anymore…" Kabuto sighed and face palmed.

Suigetsu and Hiroshi finally pulled away, and they seemed totally uncaring that everyone was staring at them.

"Okay, does anyone else need to make out or can we start working now?" Kabuto asked, annoyed.

"I think we're good now Kabuto-san," Kimiko chuckled.

"Good."

Sound check was boring as usual, and Kabuto and Karin were totally panicking because nothing seemed to be going well. Naruto was just playing his part, and doing his best. But the problem was that the atmosphere was tensed as they practiced. Kiba and Sasuke were obviously not in their best shape, and Naruto himself was still tired. Suigetsu was equally tired, but at least he was in a really good mood so it wasn't so bad.

All in all, well, it went terribly. Even Naruto started being a little scared that the show would be a disaster. And it wasn't like him to be nervous before performing. But that added to the stress he was already putting himself through because of the situation with Sasuke, it was just too much.

They all went back stage to get ready, and at the same time they the fans were let inside. Some of them had been waiting all day, after all, so now they let them in so that they could have the advantage of being right in front of the stage.

At some point Hiroshi came to ask him why he was wearing his clothes. He wasn't mad at all; actually he mentioned that he was turned on by it.

Naruto rolled his eyes, "I just forgot my key, so… I had to borrow clothes and yours were the only ones available."

"Cool," the long-haired guy smiled. "But you know you could've just gone to the desk in the hall of the hotel and asked for the keys to your room."

"I could've," Naruto said, glancing away.

Of course, this was just bullshit he was telling everyone. He hadn't really forgotten his keys. He just hadn't wanted to return to his room.

"So what was that all about with you and Suigetsu kissing anyway?" Ino suddenly asked as she was applying makeup on Sasuke's face.

Naruto exchanged a knowing glance with her, silently thanking her for the change of subjects.

"Do we need a reason?" Suigetsu asked casually, "It's fun, so why not do it?"

"You're even weirder than Hiro!" Kimiko exclaimed, laughing.

She was sitting in front of a mirror and curling the tip of her long hair. Beside her, Takumi was putting some black eyeliner around his eyes.

Karin suddenly appeared in the room, "You're up in five minutes!"

"Oh my God!" Kimiko panicked, "I'm not finished!"

"You look beautiful," Takumi told her.

"Yeah? You think? Oh God I'm so nervous!"

"It's gonna be fine!" Yoshi reassured her.

Kabuto also joined them, followed by Gaara and Lee, "Naruto, your friends are here."

"Hey!" the blond walked up to them, "I'm glad you came!"

"I'm so excited!" Lee exclaimed, literally bouncing, "I can't wait! I can't wait!"

Gaara chuckled, "What he means is, thanks for inviting us."

"No problem," Naruto smiled.

"Hey man! Long time no see!" Kiba also walked up to them, and hugged Gaara, and then Lee, briefly, "How are you guys doing?"

While they were talking Naruto glanced back at Sasuke, but he was desperately avoiding his gaze.

"Kimiko, Takumi, you guys ready?" Karin asked them; it was time for the Black Souls to perform now.

They both nodded and followed Yoshi and Hiroshi. The latter let his long black hair down as he took place behind his drums.

Since he was done getting ready anyway, Naruto decided to follow them, and he just stood at the side entrance with Kabuto to watch them perform. He hadn't done this last time, he'd stayed with Sasuke to try and relax him. But now it seemed Sasuke didn't need him… Or maybe he did, but this wasn't exactly a good time to get into a heated talk and fight… They needed to be professional.

The Black souls started the show with a slow and sad song. Hiroshi started playing drums at first, and then, at the same time, Yoshi and Takumi started playing guitar and Kimiko started singing. Her voice was so deep and beautiful, and Naruto was impressed with her talent as a singer. She was so different on stage, singing these sad lyrics which, even though not written by her, she seemed to feel with all her being.

_Oh why can't I be what you need?_

_A new improved version of me_

_But I'm nothing so good no I'm nothing_

_Just bones, a lonely ghost burning down songs_

_A violence of love and of sorrow_

_I beg for just one more tomorrow_

_Where you hold me down pull me in_

_Deep, deep, deep in the heart of your sins_

_I break in two over you_

_I break in two and each piece of me dies_

_And only you can give the breath of life_

_But you don't see me, you don't…_

_Here I'm in between darkness and light_

_Bleached and blinded by these nights_

_Where I'm tossing and tortured 'til dawn_

_By you, visions of you then you're gone_

_The shock bleeds the red from my face_

_When I hear someone's taken my place_

_How could love be so thoughtless, so cruel?_

_When all, all that I did was for you_

_I break in two over you_

_I break in two and each piece of me dies_

_And only you can give the breath of life_

_But you don't see me, you don't…_

Kimiko closed her eyes as she sang the chorus again. She looked beautiful and sad like this, almost in pain. This was really intense, and Naruto couldn't help but feel sad, actually he almost felt like crying. Glancing at the guitarist, somehow he just knew that he had written this thinking about her, and that everyday he was suffering because she didn't love him nearly as much as he loved her… How sadly ironic, Naruto thought, that she was the one singing those words.

_I break in two_

_I break in two for you_

_Now you see me,_

_Now you don't_

_Now you need me,_

_Now you don't…_

Naruto decided he would definitely ask them for a copy of their record. They played three more songs, and he liked them all. He felt proud that this talented band was doing their first part.

"Thank you so much!" Kimiko screamed to the crowd, "And now, get ready for… Chidori!"

Everybody started clapping and screaming, cheering for their favourite band. Naruto smiled despite himself. Even though he felt sad on the inside, he would push that feeling aside just for the show. He owed those people a good performance. And he knew the three others would feel the same and do their best.

As he was having those very thoughts, he realized Kiba, Suigetsu and Sasuke were now beside him. Yes, Naruto was positive they could do this; put aside their personal problems to give their fans a good show.

Just like last time, a thick smoke briefly filled the stage so that they could take place behind their instruments. They immediately started playing, and the fans screamed even louder – if that was at all possible.

If Naruto had felt tired before, now it was all gone, replaced by adrenaline – and he could tell it was the same for the others, even Sasuke. His voice was just slightly more rasp than normal, but he was certain the fans wouldn't even notice, or they wouldn't mind. His voice still sounded very good.

It went very well until the very end, for their encore. They were playing the song they had planned to do if they were called back by the fans, but at some point during it Naruto noticed that Sasuke tensed and even missed some of the lyrics. He seemed very troubled, having lost his focus completely, and he was evidently staring at someone that was in the crowd right in front of the stage.

Naruto went to stand right beside him, and when he noticed his presence Sasuke glanced at him sideways. As Naruto had hoped, this brought Sasuke out of his daze and he regained his confidence. He sang the last part of the song with passion and energy, and thankfully this little flaw in the performance went pretty much unnoticed.

- Chidori -

"You gotta love the after party!" Yoshi exclaimed. "This is the best part of shows!"

"It's not actually part of the show you moron," Takumi replied.

"Shut up emo boy. Now guys, and Kimi, let me introduce you to Sarah," he pointed the tall and pretty brunette by his right, "and this is…" he hesitated, glancing at the girl who was slightly hiding behind him, "what did you say your name was?"

"I'm Haku," the 'girl' stepped forward and looked up.

Sasuke's eyes widened as he stared at him. He had seen him at that television show, he had seen him just a few minutes ago in the crowd, and now he was with Yoshi as one of the girls that would party with them? This was too fucked up…

"Hey Sasuke, long time no see," he said in his androgynous voice.

Everything was androgynous about him. And actually, with his pretty and delicate features, long and sleek dark hair and feminine clothes he could see why any straight guy would fall for it.

"You two know each other?" Yoshi asked, confused.

"Of course," Haku chuckled, "Sasuke's my ex-boyfriend."

"Really?" the blue-haired guy asked him, and pretty much everyone else also stared at him expectedly.

This was just too much for Sasuke. He felt exhausted, worn out – he felt like he was about to pass out. He hadn't eaten in days, and he suddenly felt really thirsty, too. All this singing and performing had been too much for his weakened body. And now Haku was here? And he was supposed to explain? He just wanted to scream and tell the whole world to go fuck themselves and leave him alone.

But suddenly everything was okay again, as he felt a familiar presence beside him, and a familiar arm slid around his waist pulling him closer.

"That's a long story," Naruto said, trying to make his voice casual, "but what are you guys waiting for anyway? Just go party! Have fun, okay? Sasuke and I will join you later."

It was a lie, of course, but it worked. They all nodded and left. As Sasuke understood it, Yoshi, that Sarah girl, Haku, Kiba, Suigetsu, Hiroshi and Kimiko were going to the after party, and the others were just going back to the hotel to sleep. But he really couldn't care less. Now the large room was empty, and the staff would probably soon come to clean up and tell them to go, but not yet.

For now, they were alone. And Naruto was still holding him with his arm – which was a good thing, because Sasuke really didn't know if he could stand on his own. He slowly glanced up into Naruto's beautiful blue eyes.

"I'm sorry," he whispered very softly, in a broken voice, and before he could stop them he felt the tears rolling down his cheeks.

Naruto sighed and led him to the chairs in the back of the room. They sat in front of each other and Naruto simply looked at him for a moment.

"Just… tell me what happened?"

"You came back to the room and saw me sleeping with Takumi?" Sasuke answered his question with another.

"Yeah, and Kimiko too. So I freaked out, but you can't really blame me…"

"I didn't cheat on you Naruto. I promise, I didn't. You know I can't lie to you. We were just really fucking wasted and I don't know I guess we just fell asleep like that or something."

Naruto reached with his hand to wipe off his tears, "Don't cry, I don't want to see you like this."

Sasuke knew it wasn't like him to get emotional, but he wasn't exactly in his best shape and it had been a really crazy and fucked up week so far.

"I stopped writing… I don't even know why I'm telling you this right now," he chuckled, glancing away. At least he had stopped crying. "It doesn't even have anything to do with it. But I don't know, I'm just scared… I lost my inspiration. When I try to write, my mind just goes blank and it makes me so… fucking depressed. You have no idea…"

"It's probably normal. You can't be inspired all the time," Naruto said, trying to sound reassuring. "I'm sure it will come back sooner than you think."

"Itachi told me the same thing. And I'm really trying to believe that, but… I'm just scared. What if it never comes back?"

"Of course it will," Naruto made a little smile and leaned closer, "you have to be more patient, okay?" he reached with his hand to stroke Sasuke's hair softly. "You remember that time I danced with Sai, and kissed him too? We'd just started dating."

"We weren't even officially dating yet."

"That's not the point. I made a mistake back then, and I hurt you. And, well, to put it simply, you made a mistake last night. And you hurt me."

"I'm sorry," he whispered.

"I know you are," Naruto said sadly, still caressing his hair softly, "But I wasn't finished. Back then, you forgave me and gave me another chance. And I'm gonna do just the same right now."

He looked into those blue eyes he loved so much, and he wanted to tell him how much he loved him, how much he was sorry for hurting him, but he couldn't. He didn't even have the energy left to talk…

Naruto wrapped his arms around him and held him tight, and he hugged back weakly, burying his face into Naruto's neck. He felt safe and warm… But eventually Naruto pulled away and got up. He was saying something, but Sasuke couldn't hear him.

He tried to get up to follow him, but it was hard to keep his balance. He felt nauseous, and dizzy, and he couldn't even hear or see anything anymore. Except Naruto's voice, he could still hear it, and it sounded worried.

Naruto's arms caught him before he could hit the floor. His last thought was that he knew he would be okay no matter what; Naruto was there with him… And then everything went completely black.

TBC

Song: Autumn's monologue by From autumn to ashes

Damn, another cliffhanger, sorry... *hides* I'll update really soon again I promise


	6. Trouble is a friend

Chidori

Chapter 6 – Trouble is a friend

"Sasuke!" Naruto exclaimed, and caught him before he could fall.

He was so light that it was easy for Naruto to carry him. He'd lost weight, actually, Naruto was certain. His first reflex was to bring him outside. It was late and the streets behind the arts center were pretty quiet, so Naruto sat, keeping Sasuke in his arms, and not knowing what else to do or who else to call, he dialled Gaara's number.

"Hello?"

"Hey Lee, is Gaara with you?"

"Yes! He's driving. Is everything okay?"

"Err… no, not really. Sasuke's… Could you guys come back to pick us up? I'm sorry, I know this must be annoying…"

"It's all right. Gaara's already turning around!"

"Thank you so much!"

"Where are you?" Gaara's voice said in the phone.

Naruto didn't really know the area or the names of the streets, so he just described what he saw around him as best as he could. Gaara seemed to understand well enough, and he hung up after telling Naruto that he'd be there in a few minutes.

They were the longest few minutes of Naruto's life. Sasuke was so pale and his breathing was uneven, and when he tried to wake him up it didn't work.

"Stupid bastard," he muttered, but contradicting his words he held Sasuke even more tightly.

He was about to call Gaara again to make sure they weren't lost, when he finally got there.

"What happened?" the red-head asked as he got out of his car and walked up to Naruto quickly, Lee right behind him.

"Oh my God is he…?" Lee asked, horrified.

"What? No! He's just passed out," Naruto replied, "I didn't know what to do."

"Just get him in the car," Gaara said.

Naruto nodded and, carrying Sasuke, he followed them to the car parked on the other side of the street. Gaara and Lee sat in the front and Naruto put Sasuke on the back seat and sat beside him.

"We should go to the hospital," Lee suggested as Gaara started driving quickly.

"No," Naruto protested, even though he was unsure, "I don't want it to be everywhere in the news. And he'd hate me."

"I understand," Gaara said, "You don't want him to be one of those rehab rock stars right at the beginning of his career."

"Yeah… Wait, what? Rehab? No, he's probably just tired or something." He tried to sound confident, but really Naruto was just trying to convince himself.

"I'm not a doctor yet, but passing out like that just because you're tired is not very common."

"Please don't be a smart ass Gaara…" Naruto sighed. "Well I know he took some drugs."

"What drugs?" Gaara asked, his eyes never leaving the road.

"I don't know. But Takumi didn't go to the party, so he'll be in the room, and we can just ask him."

"Okay," Gaara nodded as he parked in front of the hotel.

"Do you need me to help you carry him?" Lee offered when they got out of the car.

"No, I'm okay thanks," Naruto answered.

When they got to their room, Takumi was writing on his computer. He glanced up at them and his hazel eyes widened worriedly.

"What…"

"He just passed out," Naruto cut him, putting Sasuke on the other bed softly, "Takumi, I need you to tell me what drugs he took, and how much?"

"It was just E," he said, frowning, "just a normal dose. We all took some yesterday."

"MDMA?" Gaara said thoughtfully, "It can't be just that."

"We drank a lot too," Takumi added; it was clear he just wanted to help, "And he threw up this morning…"

"Dehydration then, probably... Did he drink a lot of water?" the red-head asked.

"I don't think so," Takumi said.

"I thought he was supposed to be smart."

"Gaara!" Naruto exclaimed in despair.

"Sorry. Anyway, I don't need any degree to tell you that he just needs to sleep, drink water – loads of it, but not too quickly or he'll just throw up again – and eat."

"So he'll be okay?" Lee asked his boyfriend.

"Yeah"

Naruto hugged Gaara briefly, "Thank you so much."

"No problem"

After that they left Naruto alone with Takumi and a still unconscious Sasuke. Naruto sat beside him on the bed and rested his head in his hands, sighing. He wanted to yell at Takumi for making Sasuke take drugs, but he knew it wouldn't be helpful at all, anyway. He just needed someone to blame, and that was immature. So instead they just stayed quiet for a while, Takumi keeping him company at least. But eventually he went to sleep, and Naruto was alone to check on Sasuke.

- Chidori -

Suigetsu laughed and shook his head as he watched his friends dancing. Kiba was dancing with that tall girl named Sarah – who was apparently a really hardcore fan girl of Chidori's drummer – and Kimiko was dancing with pretty much every straight guy in the club. As for Yoshi, he was standing at the bar nearby, paying Haku a drink.

"What's so funny?" Hiroshi asked him.

Suigetsu turned to look at the long-haired guy standing beside him at the bar counter, "Haku's a guy."

"You're shitting me, right?"

"Nope," he laughed. "Well he used to be a guy, anyway. Maybe he did the operation…"

"That's fucked up," Hiroshi was a little bit shocked.

"I don't think he'd go that far though," Suigetsu continued, "I think he just likes to dress as a girl. But to tell you the truth, I'm sure he's just flirting with Yoshi to get to Sasuke."

"I so want to see Yoshi's face when he finds out!" Hiroshi laughed.

"Me too," Suigetsu chuckled, locking eyes with him.

Hiroshi had very deep and beautiful dark brown eyes, and his pale face was round and delicate – much like a lot of Japanese men. His long jet black hair was still loose since the show, and Suigetsu just randomly started playing with it.

"Your hair is so cool. I felt like growing mine longer too, and putting it up in a ponytail. But Ino and those other stylist experts or whatever convinced me that it looked better shorter…"

"I think you'd look hot either way, honestly," Hiroshi shrugged, leaning into Suigetsu's touch, "I like the colour, it's kinda weird but it looks good on ya. Just curious though, what's your natural hair colour?"

"Like pale brown…" Suigetsu answered absent-mindedly; he had realized Haku was glaring at him from the other side of the bar counter, and it was making him feel uncomfortable.

"Hey this song is really good, do you wanna dance?" Hiroshi asked, already leading him towards the dance floor.

Suigetsu didn't mind though, and he was glad to be further from Haku. He really didn't like this guy. Never had, never will, he thought. At first Hiroshi and Suigetsu danced each on their own, but then the raven-haired guy, clearly enjoying the song, moved closer to him. It was Suigetsu's first time dancing with a guy, but he was getting a little bit drunk and he felt confident.

It was quite different than dancing with a girl. Well first there was the height; they were both pretty much about six feet tall, and at first Suigetsu found it very weird because he was used to dancing with shorter people – well, girls. And also the movements were very different, but he got used to it quickly enough. Hiroshi was a good dancer and needless to say very used to dancing with other guys, and Suigetsu followed his lead.

They were dancing beside their little group of friends, and glancing sideways Suigetsu saw that Kimiko was making out with some random guy she had probably just met on the dance floor. And Kiba was doing the same with Sarah. A week ago Suigetsu would've immediately thought about the consequences for his relationship with Karin, but now he didn't really care anymore.

After his talk with Sasuke he had decided to really try to move on. Not that he wanted to be in a relationship with Hiroshi or anything, but he just wanted to meet other people, have his fun and live a little…

His train of thoughts was interrupted when his violet eyes met Haku's dark, creepy ones again. He was _still_ glaring at him! What a freak…

"You okay?" Hiroshi asked him.

"Yeah Haku's just starting to freak me out a little…"

"Don't worry, I'll protect you," the raven teased him.

Suigetsu pulled away slightly, offended, "Just so you know, even if we were actually together, I so wouldn't be the girl in this relationship."

"But technically yesterday you were filling the girl's part quite well…" he smirked as he grinded suggestively against Suigetsu's hips.

"I told you, I don't even remember!"

"Tonight I'll make you remember."

Suigetsu smiled despite himself, he couldn't help but get a little excited, and impatient, "We'll see!"

"Such a tease," Hiroshi pulled him closer as they danced, "I still can't believe I was the first guy you slept with. It must've sucked with all those girls…"

"I told you; I'm bi, not gay. I like girls too."

"But that's just something people say to sound interesting. It's just not possible…"

Suigetsu sighed, but he wasn't angry, just a little annoyed, "See, that's why I never told anyone! People are so close-minded. And just because it's a minority, they think it doesn't exist."

"I'm sorry," Hiroshi said sincerely, "It's just hard to understand."

"It's okay," Suigetsu shrugged.

He had to admit anyone looking at him at that moment would've thought him to be gay. His hands were all over Hiroshi's lean but muscular body, and they were grinding as they danced. Things were getting really hot…

"Should we go back to the hotel?" Hiroshi whispered in his ear.

"You read my mind."

- Chidori -

When he woke up the next day Suigetsu felt really good. He hadn't drunk that much at the after party, so he wasn't too hungover. He didn't know what time it was, but he felt well rested – more than he had in days now.

He had forgotten how good it felt to have sex and then sleep with someone in his arms. That was exactly what had happened with Hiroshi. The raven-haired guy had let him top, and Suigetsu'd had a really good time.

Careful not to wake his fuck buddy up, he stretched and yawned, and then picked up clean clothes from his messy suitcase and went to the bathroom. The other occupants of the room were all still asleep. Actually, in the other bed, Suigetsu noticed there were four people; Kiba and Sarah – damn, so he'd actually cheated on Karin this time – and Yoshi and a girl with black hair that Suigetsu couldn't see properly. He shrugged and closed the door behind him.

He took a quick but relaxing shower, brushed his teeth and put on white cargo shorts and a violet v-neck t-shirt. When he got out of the bathroom there was someone standing right in front of him and he jumped out of his skin.

"You!"

Miraculously he managed not to wake the others up. Haku, still wearing the same feminine clothes as last night, grabbed his arm and tugged him outside the room.

"What do you want?" Suigetsu asked, annoyed, removing his arm from the other's grasp roughly.

He closed the door and turned to look at Suigetsu, "Which room is Sasuke's?"

He scratched his wet silver hair and glanced away, "Oh it's too bad, I can't remember…"

Haku's expression hardened and, grabbing him by the collar he pushed him on the wall roughly, "Tell me which room it is."

"Jeez man, calm the fuck down."

Standing this close to Haku he could see that he was wearing a push-up bra, and that's why it looked like he had breasts. He tried to push him away, but Haku was surprisingly strong.

"I'll tell you but I'll come with you."

"Fine," Haku said and let him go.

Suigetsu walked towards Sasuke's room, replacing his shirt. Damn Haku, what a bitch… He figured he could call him a bitch since he looked like a girl.

He knocked on the door and waited nervously, Haku standing quietly by his side. Poor Sasuke, he thought, having this crazy ex stalking him… At least Naruto was there.

- Chidori -

When Sasuke finally woke up at 11 am, Takumi and Kimiko were still sleeping soundly. Kimi had gotten back really late, slightly drunk and exhausted, and had just fallen on the bed next to her sleeping boyfriend.

Naruto had been in and out of sleep all night; his anxiety and worry for Sasuke keeping him awake most of the time. They had to leave today for Kyoto anyway, so he figured he could sleep in the car later.

"Here," he offered Sasuke a glass of water that he had gotten ready earlier. "But you have to drink it slowly."

The raven looked lost and confused, but he took the glass and drank half of it, before putting it down on the bedside table. He glanced around the room, his dark eyes falling on the other couple before returning to Naruto. He looked like he didn't know what to say.

"You look tired," he finally said in a worried and rasp voice.

Naruto chuckled and wrapped his arms around Sasuke to hug him tightly, and again he was worried at how skinny he was.

"Look at you! You're like, dying of dehydration and malnutrition and you're worrying about me?"

"Don't you think you're exaggerating a little?" Sasuke replied, but he hugged him back fiercely.

"You passed out in my arms last night! So no, I don't think I'm exaggerating. Now drink more water," he added as he pulled away.

Sasuke rolled his eyes but did as he was told.

"Thanks for not bringing me to the hospital…"

"I knew you'd say that," Naruto shrugged slightly. "But it looks like I'm gonna have to give you a little lesson on life. So here it is: drugs and alcohol are not a good diet. To survive, you actually need to drink water, and also, you need to eat food," he said very slowly as if he were talking to a retarded child.

Sasuke smiled and put his glass of water down. Then he pushed Naruto on the bed so that they lay down together.

"Thanks for the tip. I'll try to remember that," he said, playing along.

"Good," Naruto smiled and kissed him, "I'm so glad you're okay," he added more seriously, in between two kiss.

Sasuke pulled him closer to deepen the kiss, and Naruto caressed his pale, smooth back with his hands. He then brought a hand to his hair to stroke them, knowing how much Sasuke liked that. He moaned a little as they kissed and Naruto smiled through it, glad to have his boyfriend back and that they had a little bit of time in front of them. Besides he was sure Takumi and Kimiko wouldn't wake up in a while so no one would bother them…

But then there was a knock on the door, interrupting them. Well damn you irony, Naruto thought as he got up reluctantly to go answer it. He was just in his boxers, but he didn't care; he figured it was probably just Ino or Karin…

So his blue eyes widened in shock as he opened the door and found himself facing Suigetsu and Haku.

"I'm really sorry," Suigetsu said sheepishly, "he insisted…"

"Sasuke," Haku said, glancing behind Naruto at the back of the room, "we need to talk."

The raven got up a little too fast and lost his balance slightly, and Naruto hurried to go help him.

"You don't have to if you don't want to," he whispered.

"I know… but I might as well get it over with," he replied in a low voice.

He was also wearing only boxers – Naruto had undressed him so that he could sleep comfortably – so he put on black sweat pants and made his way towards the door.

Naruto stayed close to make sure he would be okay, but Haku insisted he wanted to talk to Sasuke alone.

"I'll be fine," Sasuke said softly, and kissed Naruto on the lips.

The blond kissed back passionately, in front of Haku and on purpose. He couldn't help it; he felt possessive and wanted to show Haku that Sasuke was his. Then he let him go and they closed the door.

But Naruto stayed beside the door, and he could hear everything.

"Are you gonna be okay?" Suigetsu asked.

"Yeah," Sasuke answered.

Naruto heard footsteps; Suigetsu leaving.

"So why are you here anyway?" Sasuke asked, and his voice still sounded so weak that Naruto felt protective and just wanted to open the door to stand by his side, but he waited.

"I miss you, of course."

"Well I don't."

Naruto mentally cheered for Sasuke at that moment.

"Are you really happy, Sasuke?"

"Why should I answer your questions? We're not even friends."

"Are you happy with him? Do you trust him?"

"Yes," Sasuke answered without hesitating.

"Then let me just show you something…"

Naruto frowned, curious, when the silence lingered. He was about to open the door to find out what was going on when he heard Sasuke's voice again.

"That's just bullshit."

"How can you be so sure?" Haku asked. "Can you really trust him? He's probably cheating on you with that girl."

"You're pathetic. I can't believe you're doing this."

"I'm just saying…"

"Haku," Sasuke cut him, and Naruto really wondered what the hell they were talking about, "you should leave. Now."

"Maybe we should ask him!" Haku opened the door and glared at Naruto, "You were listening?"

"So what if he was?" Sasuke said, annoyed.

Haku threw a piece of newspaper at Naruto, and the latter caught it and took a look. There were pictures of Ino and him hugging, and one of him holding the door for her.

"Well that was fast," he whispered. He remembered having heard someone taking pictures of them two days ago, when they'd just come back from Gaara's place.

"What do you mean that was fast?" Haku asked him.

Naruto crumbled the paper and threw it in the trash.

"Yes I was listening, and Sasuke's right, you're pathetic. This is our friend, and she was sad so I was comforting her. There was probably some stupid journalist around taking pictures, looking for a good subject he could write bullshit about in the newspapers."

"I really think you should leave now," Sasuke repeated, putting emphasis on the last word.

Haku glanced away, defeated. He walked away, and only glanced back at Sasuke one last time before he turned the corner towards the elevator.

"I really hope we never see him again," Naruto sighed.

He was about to close the door, when he saw Kiba walked out of his room with a girl. As much as he wanted to spend time with Sasuke, he was just too curious.

Behind him, Sasuke had returned to his bed.

"What's going on?" Kimiko asked in a sleepy voice.

"Nothing," Sasuke replied, "go back to sleep."

"Okay"

Naruto kept watching as Kiba kissed the girl passionately. As much as he could see, she was very tall – almost as tall as Kiba, actually – and very pretty. Naruto suddenly remembered he had seen her with Yoshi before they'd all left for the after party.

The girl was now holding Kiba's cell – she was probably entering her number in it. They smiled, hugged and kissed one last time and then she walked away. She looked at Naruto as she walked passed him, smiled shyly and glanced away. Suddenly he realized he was standing in the doorway in just his bright orange boxers. Oops…

"Naruto what are you doing?" Sasuke asked from the bed.

"Nothing," he quickly closed the door and ran back to the bed, jumping on it and rolling on his side to hug Sasuke.

He could talk to Kiba later. Right now, most importantly, he wanted to spend some quality time with his boyfriend.

"We should go eat breakfast somewhere," he suggested.

"I'd like that," Sasuke smiled and kissed him softly.

He got up to get dressed and Naruto imitated him, simply putting on the first clothes he found.

"Can I come too?" Kimiko pleaded; apparently she hadn't returned to sleep after all.

Naruto hesitated; he wanted to say no, but he decided he'd wait for Sasuke to answer.

"Sorry Kimi but I want to spend some time with Naruto. Why don't you do the same and wake that sleepyhead," he pointed Takumi, "and go somewhere just the two of you?"

"Aww okay," she pouted cutely, "you guys have fun then!"

"Thanks, see you later," Sasuke said and put his arm around Naruto's shoulders as they got out of the room. "I'm sorry about the way I've been acting these past few days, but I want to make it up to you," he whispered and kissed his neck softly as they walked really close to each other.

Naruto couldn't help but smile; that was exactly what he'd wanted to hear.

TBC


	7. Relationships mingle

Chidori

Chapter 7 – Relationship mingle

For the drive to Kyoto, the four members of the Black Souls, as well as Kiba, Suigetsu, and Kabuto were sharing a van, and Kabuto was driving as usual. Unfortunately for Kiba, he was sharing the backseat with Suigetsu and Hiroshi, and it appeared they no longer needed to breathe because they were constantly making out.

Kiba'd had an awesome time with that girl Yoshi had introduced him to, Sarah. They'd even exchanged phone numbers and promised to keep in touch. But now he felt guilty because he'd cheated on Karin. But at the same time, it had been so long since they'd had sex! They barely ever kissed anymore, and they didn't even share hotel rooms.

He felt as if she didn't want to be with him anymore, but didn't want to say it. Kiba had made efforts; he'd tried to be a good boyfriend, to take care of her… But it just wasn't working.

And when he glanced at the two boys making out beside him, even though he mostly found it weird, he couldn't help but miss that. He missed the passion that came so easily with someone you'd just met. It had been like that with Sarah, of course. Even though she was a fan and he'd kind of used his fame to get laid, it had felt so good and she'd enjoyed it too, so what was the big deal?

Except now he had to tell Karin. And he needed to break up with her, because he really couldn't do this anymore.

For a moment he was lost in his thoughts. In the car, the two horny guys were still making out beside him, Takumi was writing in his notebook frantically, Kimiko was sleeping and Yoshi and Kabuto were talking about music in general apparently, but Kiba couldn't hear them properly.

Suddenly his cell phone buzzed, bringing him out of his thoughts. It was a text from Naruto.

"Are you gonna tell her?"

Kiba just stared at the little screen for a moment, wondering how Naruto knew… So he texted him back that very question.

"I saw you this morning with that girl. Was it worth it at least?"

Kiba sighed and closed his phone. He didn't want to explain these things by texts anyway…

- Chidori -

Sasuke was feeling much better, and it was all thanks to Naruto. He was so glad that Naruto had forgiven him; he didn't even know how to express it. He wondered what he would become without Naruto by his side. He had always been someone with the tendency to become depressed easily. He didn't see much meaning in life, and, being bitter and cynical most of the time, he sought comfort in alcohol because it made him feel good and careless. Drugs – well, the ones he'd tried so far – were even more intense, and it was easy to get addicted to it fast.

But his life _did_ have meaning. They were currently sitting together and listening to Sasuke's IPod with an ear bud for each, and Naruto was sometimes glancing sideways at him and smiling, or squeezing his hand. This, what he and Naruto shared, was important and meaningful, and Sasuke never wanted to risk losing that again.

He reached with his hand to stroke Naruto's hair softly. His long pale fingers entangled into the soft mid-length blond hair, now with reddish highlights in them. Sasuke really liked it; it was as if his blue eyes stood out even more now, if possible.

"I don't think I told you," he said, "but I really like your hair. It's cute."

"Thanks," Naruto grinned.

"All thanks to me!" Ino smiled, glancing at them from the passenger's seat.

"You're the best stylist in the whole world," Naruto said half-teasing.

"Thank you Naruto!" she exclaimed, playing along, "And you're the best guitarist in the world! And the best boyfriend of course! I just love you so much!" she added more dramatically.

Sasuke and Naruto laughed, and even Karin smiled. Naruto had told the girls about Haku and his master plan with the newspaper. Apparently he enjoyed making fun of Haku's antics – not that Sasuke had a problem with that.

After that Naruto started texting Kiba. He had also told this story – but only to Sasuke of course. They didn't have any secrets for each other.

Karin wasn't stupid though, and everyone knew Kiba had been partying with the others anyway. So she was a bit tensed, and clearly expecting a confrontation soon.

So when they stopped at a restaurant because the girls needed to use the bathroom, she just waited by the car with Naruto and Sasuke, and Ino went to the bathroom with Kimiko.

Kiba looked sad and uneasy as he walked towards them.

"Hey…"

"Hey," Karin said nervously.

"Do you wanna go talk or something?"

"Sure," she walked further in the parking so that no one could hear their conversation, and Kiba followed her.

Suigetsu and Hiroshi were kissing, leaning on the parked van, Kabuto was on the phone – again – and Takumi was writing in his notebook; he hadn't even gotten out of the car yet. As for Yoshikazu, he stretched lazily and then walked in their direction.

"Naruto! What's up?"

"Hum, not much you?" Naruto chuckled, glancing at Sasuke with a why-the-hell-is-he-talking-to-me look.

Sasuke shrugged and proceeded to change the song playing in his IPod, pretending not to listen, but of course he was listening.

"Not much, not much… So these rumours of you and Ino, they're not true, right?"

Naruto laughed, "Err no they're not…" he lifted Sasuke and his joined hands to show him, "If you hadn't noticed yet, I'm with Sasuke."

"Right, right, my bad, so do you know if she's single?"

"Yes…"

Yoshikazu nodded, replacing his sunglasses and clearing his throat, "And is she looking for a relationship or…?"

"I don't know, you'd have to ask her," Naruto frowned, "but I thought _you_ weren't looking for a relationship. No offense, but you seem… kind of a player."

"None taken," he laughed, "but I date sometimes. I used to date Kimi!"

"Really?" Naruto asked, surprised.

"Well yeah it was a while ago but it was great. And these days I'm kinda getting tired of these stupid whores… Like the one last night, she was such a tease the whole time and then… she didn't even want to do anything! So I fell asleep without even getting laid!"

"How sad," Sasuke mocked him, but then he realized the 'girl' he was talking about was probably Haku, and he burst out laughing.

Naruto was laughing too, "You were with Haku, right?"

"Yeah… hey is it true she's your ex?" he glanced at Sasuke, "she wouldn't shut up about you. Hey what's so funny guys?"

"Well yeah, _he_ is my ex," he said and Naruto almost fell on the ground laughing at the expression on Yoshi's face.

"You don't mean…"

"Yup," Sasuke said, "Haku's a guy."

Hiroshi and Suigetsu interrupted their making out to join their little conversation.

"You told him?" Hiroshi laughed.

"That's cruel guys, now he's gonna be scarred for life," Suigetsu added.

Yoshi remained silent for a few seconds, and then glared at them.

"You guys knew and didn't tell me?"

"Sorry," Suigetsu shrugged.

"Well you see, I was kind of busy," Hiroshi smirked; his body still glued to Suigetsu making it no difficult to see what he was talking about.

"I hate you guys!" Yoshi exclaimed, his face slightly paler, "Ugh, that's so not cool… Some fucked up shit…" he removed his sunglasses and hat and ran a shaky hand through his blue hair.

He walked away at the same time that Ino and Kimiko came back from the restroom.

"What's wrong with him?" the blonde girl asked them.

"I don't know, but you should go talk to him, it will cheer him up, trust me," Kimiko winked at her.

The two girls seemed to get along quite well, even though their styles couldn't be more different. Ino was wearing a little purple dress, and had her long blonde hair loose and sleek; and Kimiko was wearing ripped blue skinny jeans and a wide neck black shirt with her long caramel hair pulled up in a messy ponytail.

Ino was blushing slightly, "What? No, I barely know him…"

"Just go!" Kimi pushed her towards him.

Sasuke rolled his eyes at Kimi's not so subtle attempt at playing match makers, and then Kabuto appeared beside him and handed him his cell.

"Orochimaru-sama wants to talk to you."

"All right," Sasuke took it and walked passed the others towards the restaurant, "Hello?"

"Hi Sasuke-kun, how are you?"

"I'm good, thanks, you?"

"I'm very good! I'm hearing only praise so far for your tour, so I wanted to personally congratulate you."

"Thank you, I appreciate," Sasuke said politely.

"Also, Takumi-kun called me earlier today. He's a very secret guy and I guess he hasn't told you anything yet, but you inspired him a lot and he's been writing songs for you and Kimi-chan to sing in duets. He wanted to know if I'd be interested in producing such a record."

"No he didn't tell me… So what was your answer?" Sasuke asked. He actually found the idea interesting himself.

"I didn't answer him yet. I wanted to talk to you directly. I'd like you to work with Takumi on the songs, and only if you want, give it a try in the shows. You'd sing with the Black Souls at the end of their first part, and then you'd sing with Chidori of course. We'll see the fans' reactions, and I'll decide what to do from there."

"I understand Orochimaru, thank you for taking the time to talk to me."

"It's always a pleasure! Could you give the phone back to Kabuto, please?"

Sasuke did as he was told, and glancing at the others he saw that Ino and Yoshi were sitting on a bench, talking together, and further in the parking Karin and Kiba were… hugging. But it didn't look like they'd made up. They both looked really sad, from what Sasuke could see, anyway.

"What did he want?" Naruto asked him.

"He wants me to sing some duets with Kimi," he said simply, before glancing at Takumi, who had finally gotten out of the car.

"Oh, I was waiting for his answer before telling you," he said simply.

"That would be awesome!" Kimiko exclaimed enthusiastically. "Please say yes, please say yes, Sasuke, please, please, please!"

"Well, I'll take a look at the songs first, but yeah, I mean I think it's a great idea."

"Yatta!" Kimiko threw herself in Sasuke's arms. "I can't wait!"

While they were talking Karin had gotten back to the driver seat of their car, and Kiba to the back seat of the other one.

"All right, time to go!" Kabuto told everyone.

"You should ride with us and show me what you got so far," Sasuke told Takumi.

He made a little smile, "Sure."

They took place in the back seat, while Kimiko and Naruto sat in the middle and Ino at the front.

"Are you okay to drive?" the blonde girl asked Karin worriedly.

"Yes, it's better; keeps me from thinking too much," she sighed as she started the car and followed the other van towards the highway.

From listening to small parts of their conversations, Sasuke gathered that Karin and Kiba had broken up on a mutual decision, and that Ino had a date with Yoshikazu later in the evening.

It seemed all everybody could talk about was relationships. So Sasuke was glad to focus on music with Takumi instead.

"This is really good!" he said sincerely.

They worked together and made some adjustments. Sasuke was particularly interested in one of the songs Takumi had written, so they worked on making it perfect.

"Oi, Karin?" he said at some point, interrupting the other conversations.

"Yes, Sasuke?" she glanced at him in the rear view mirror.

"What do we have scheduled tomorrow?"

"Interviews and sound check, why?"

"I'd like the rest of the band to go to the interviews without me, and to have more sound check time – actually the whole day, if possible – to practice with Kimiko and the band."

They were Tuesday, and the show was on Thursday evening. Sasuke was really excited about Takumi's songs, and he wanted to play at least one of them at the Kyoto show. If they worked really hard, it could be done.

"Oh my God!" Kimiko screamed, "Please, Karin-san, please, please, please!"

"Fine just stop screaming!" Karin sighed, "I'll do what I can, Sasuke."

"Thanks"

"Awesome!" Kimi exclaimed, grinning, as she glanced back and blew a kiss at Sasuke with her hand.

- Chidori -

"So, how was it?" Naruto asked Ino.

She had just gotten back from her date with Yoshikazu. Sasuke, Takumi and Kimiko were sitting on one of the beds talking about the song they would practice the next day, and Naruto had been playing a game on Sasuke's laptop on the meantime, but he was kind of bored. So when Ino had sent him a text to ask if she could stop by his room to talk a little bit, he'd said yes enthusiastically.

This time Hiroshi was sharing the same room as Suigetsu, Yoshikazu and Kiba, and Ino couldn't exactly go back to her own room to talk to Karin since she wasn't feeling well because of her breakup, and Kabuto well, it was out of the question. Actually, no one in their group was really friends with Kabuto.

"It was great," Ino smiled, dropping her small purse on the floor beside her sandals and sitting on the bed next to Naruto.

"Hey Ino!" Kimiko exclaimed, jumping from her spot between the two raven-haired guys to join them instead.

"Hey Kimi," Ino chuckled.

"But come on I want more details than just 'It was great'," Naruto laughed.

"It was romantic, you know? We went to a nice little restaurant, and then we walked by the Katsura river… We talked a lot…"

"About what?" Kimiko asked excitedly.

"He kept telling me how beautiful I was," Ino chuckled, "and well we talked about so many things. He's a pretty interesting guy."

"You sound surprised," Kimi replied, amused.

"Well, I just hadn't him pinned down as… I mean I was surprised, yes, but in a good way."

"I have to agree with Ino I mean, if I was a girl I wouldn't see him as a potential boyfriend, like at all," Naruto said.

"He likes to party a lot when he's single," Kimiko said thoughtfully, "but when we were together he was a great boyfriend. And we were together like, two years."

"Wow!" Naruto exclaimed, impressed.

"Yeah he told me a lot about you, actually," Ino smiled.

Kimiko gasped and brought her hands to her face, "Oh no! I'm sure he said all sorts of embarrassing things!"

"No don't worry!" she laughed, flipping back her blonde hair behind her shoulders, "he told me about your music - your singing and his playing guitar - in the subway stations and then little gigs in bars. He told me how you rebelled and ran away from your parents to go live with him. Kimi, honestly, I think you are so courageous. Not many people would've done it, and you were so young!"

"Thank you, Ino," Kimi smiled sincerely. "It was hard of course, but I needed to get away from my parents…"

"How old were you?" Naruto asked, intrigued.

"15… And Yoshi had just turned 17. My parents wanted me to stop seeing him, and they had me locked up in my room…"

"That sucks," Naruto said sadly, "do you still talk to them or…?"

She shook her head, "No… I have many siblings and I've always been the rebellious one, the one they couldn't keep under control. Even if I'd try to write them, or call them, I don't even think they'd want to answer me."

"At least you had Yoshi's parents, right? He told me his parents were very fond of you," Ino smiled.

"Yes, they were so depressed when we broke up," Kimiko chuckled. "But did Yoshi let you talk at least? He talks too much about himself sometimes and gets carried away."

She shrugged, "Well he was talking a little bit more, but that's okay I mean I was asking questions, it was interesting and I wanted to know. But I also talked a bit."

"I'm so glad it went well!" Kimiko's smile widened and she leaned forward to hug Ino, "Now we're gonna be sisters!"

"What?" Naruto exclaimed, laughing.

"When Yoshi and I broke up," Kimiko pulled away to look at Naruto, "we decided we had more of a brother and sister relationship."

"I'm not his girlfriend yet," Ino chuckled and blushed slightly when she realized she'd added the word yet.

Glancing at Sasuke and Takumi, Naruto saw that they were still working. Such workaholics, Naruto mused. Well, even if it was teamwork with Takumi, at least Sasuke was writing, in a way. Maybe it'd cheer him up. Sasuke looked up from Takumi's notebook and their eyes met, and they exchanged a smile.

"But you like him!" Kimiko suddenly exclaimed triumphantly, and Naruto glanced back at the two girls.

"I have to admit he's really handsome and charming. He changed his outfit for our date and I thought it was really cute."

"You mean no sunglasses, cap and douche bag shirts?" Naruto laughed.

"No! It was just simple, nice clothes, and for once I could see his face. Oh, and he showed me his tattoo, he has like, wings on his back, it's so beautiful! Now I feel like getting a tattoo."

"We should go together!" Naruto exclaimed, "I've also been thinking about getting one."

"Okay," she nodded, smiling.

"Do you wanna see mine?" Kimiko asked excitedly.

"You have a tattoo? Where? I didn't even notice!" Naruto exclaimed.

"That's normal they're really small," she said, amused, as she lifted her thick hair with her hand, showing them her exposed nape. There was a small blue rose tattoo there. They'd barely had time to see it that she let her hair fall and turned around completely, lifting up her shirt and lowering her pants. "There's another one here," she said and they could see on her left butt cheek there were tiny black stars and music notes.

"They're really nice, both of them!" Ino exclaimed.

"Thank you!" she smiled.

Ino looked at Naruto with excitement in her pale turquoise eyes, "We should go tomorrow!"

"What! Get a tattoo, you mean?"

"Yeah! It's crazy, I know, but let's do it!"

"Cool! I'm gonna get Sasuke's name on my ass!"

His boyfriend glared at him, "Don't do that you freakin' moron."

"I was kidding!" Naruto laughed, throwing a pillow at him.

Sasuke threw it back, "What do you want to get, then? You have to tell me first."

"Why? Cause my body belongs to you?"

"Exactly," Sasuke smirked, making the others laugh.

Takumi closed his notebook and got up, yawning, "It's getting late…"

"Yeah you're right, I think we should go to bed," Kimiko said sleepily.

"So Ino," Naruto started, "I like your idea, but maybe not tomorrow. You know; interviews and stuff. And Thursday it's the show. So… maybe Friday?"

"Yeah okay! Friday it is! Don't chicken out on me, all right?" Ino chuckled, standing.

"You know I wouldn't do that! Oh hey," he added before she left, "I'm glad you had fun on your date tonight. I can already see it in the magazines; Uzumaki's mysterious girlfriend cheating with the bassist from the Black Souls!"

She burst out laughing, "Get ready for the interviews tomorrow!"

"Oh God," Naruto face palmed.

"Good night guys," Ino told them.

"Good night sis!" Kimiko exclaimed teasingly.

Ino rolled her eyes, smiling, and closed the door to let them sleep.

TBC


	8. Kyoto muse

Chidori

Chapter 8 – Kyoto Muse

"What is your favourite ice cream flavour?"

Naruto could almost feel Kiba's urge to face palm. All along the interview, it had been stupid questions like that. Suigetsu and Naruto were answering most of the time, and they understood it was for a fun facts teenage magazine or something like that, but Kiba just wasn't in the mood.

"Chocolate, definitely," Naruto smiled, playing along, while the two others rolled their eyes.

It continued with a few more questions like that, and a few really weird ones too…

"If you could control the elements, which one would be your favourite?" the young female journalist inquired.

"Water, I guess," Suigetsu answered.

"I'd say wind," Naruto said thoughtfully, "Cause it's the strongest one, no?"

Again, Kiba didn't answer, but the journalist didn't seem to mind. They were sitting at a nice tea house for this interview; since there wasn't any photo shoot they didn't need a studio. Naruto thought it was actually kind of cool, but apparently the others didn't share his opinion.

"So, do you guys have girlfriends?"

Scratch that, Naruto thought, not cool…

"No," Suigetsu shook his head, smiling playfully, "I'm single and free and proud of it!"

This time, it was Naruto who had to resist the urge to face palm.

"I'm recently single," Kiba said.

"Is it because you're on tour? Is it too hard to keep a relationship in those conditions?" she asked.

The brunet frowned, "That's none of your fucking business…" he muttered, and Naruto nudged him in the ribs.

"About those rumours of me and Ino…" he started, hoping to distract the journalist from anything that had to do with Kiba.

It worked, "Yes! Tell me more about this beautiful young woman!"

"Well, actually she's one of my closest friends. But that's it, we're not together."

The interviewer seemed a little bit disappointed, but she continued her questions with enthusiasm nonetheless.

After this interview Kiba, Naruto and Suigetsu met with Karin outside and made their way to sound check. It wasn't far so they went by foot, opting for Yoshi's number one favourite look with the sunglasses and caps not to attract too much attention. But of course when you tried too hard, it wasn't any better, and some people recognized them and asked them for their autographs.

Naruto didn't mind though, he liked giving autographs. He always asked for the person's name and wrote a little message if he had time. He didn't think he'd ever get tired of this.

"Sasuke and Kimiko have been practicing all day," Karin explained, "It's actually really good, what Takumi wrote for them."

"Cool!" Naruto grinned, "And Sasuke helped writing it too."

"Yeah, anyway they're a little tired, so you guys are gonna do sound check without your singer I think."

"That's okay, I understand," Naruto nodded.

"Just as long as he doesn't ditch us to become part of their band instead," Kiba muttered.

"Sasuke wouldn't do that," Suigetsu replied.

The four of them remained silent until they arrived at the Kyoto Muse, where the show would be held. The atmosphere was a little tensed because of Kiba and Karin, but they stayed professional.

Kimiko and Sasuke, as well as the rest of the Black Souls, were taking a break when they got in, and Naruto was disappointed because he'd wanted to hear their song.

"You're gonna have to wait 'til tomorrow!" Kimiko laughed.

"Naruto! Get your ass on stage!" Suigetsu shouted.

"Just a second!" he shouted back, before turning to Sasuke again. "I need to tell you something, hum, Sai called me earlier…"

"My crazy ex, and now yours… Hmm that can't be good," Sasuke said half-teasing.

"Sai's not crazy, Sasuke."

"I know," he said more seriously, "What did he want?"

"Well he lives here in Kyoto now, so…"

"Let me take a wild guess, he wants to see you?"

"Yes, and also he wanted me to meet his new boyfriend," Naruto corrected, knowing that would ease Sasuke's worries a little.

"So he finally moved on?" the raven chuckled, "that's nice. I'm not invited?"

"Sasuke…"

"I'm just kidding."

"I know. So I'm gonna go after sound check. I just didn't want to do this behind your back. Also, if I'm not there tonight, it doesn't mean you can party with your friends and die or something…"

"I'll try to remember that," Sasuke replied teasingly.

Well, he was in a really good mood today, Naruto thought. At other times, Sasuke would've glared and maybe even hit him for saying stuff like that. Well no, not hit him; Sasuke would never do that, but still, he'd do something bastard-like.

"Naruto!" Suigetsu shouted again.

"All right, all right, I'm coming!"

- Chidori -

He was a little bit nervous about seeing Sai again. Even though they'd dated before, Naruto never had the feeling that he really knew him that well. So he never knew what to expect with his ex. But during the time they had worked together for the karate lessons they were teaching, they'd managed to get along quite well – until Naruto had met Sasuke, that is.

So when he found the apartment complex in the Northern and more residential area of Kyoto, he hesitated before going in. But Sai called him to ask him if he was lost.

"I got a little bit lost taking the subway," Naruto admitted, laughing nervously, "but I'm here now."

"Okay, just press #05 and I'll open the door for you."

Naruto entered and did as Sai had instructed him, and then went to the second floor to apartment number 5. He knocked, still a bit nervous, and a blond and pale guy with a very wide smile on his face opened the door.

"Hi! I'm Jamie, Sai's boyfriend! It's so nice to meet you!" he exclaimed in a British accent, raising his hand.

Naruto shook it, "Nice to meet you too!"

Sai appeared beside his boyfriend, "Hey Naruto, it's good to see you. Come in!"

The apartment was very neat and simple, and Naruto found this fit Sai's style perfectly. They sat around the table, and Naruto couldn't help but feel a little awkward. He wondered why Sai had insisted so much that he come visit them.

"I hope you don't mind that I'm here," he told the other blond guy, "I feel like I'm intruding…"

"Oh no! Not at all!" he quickly replied.

"Jamie insisted that I invite you, actually…" Sai chuckled.

"Really?" Naruto raised a fine blond eyebrow; this was kind of weird…

"He's a fan of that band of yours…" the raven glanced at his boyfriend mockingly.

Well that explained a lot of things.

"Cool," he grinned.

"I bought the record the day it was out in the stores!" Jamie said, standing. He went to get said record and a pen, "Do you think you could…" he started a little shyly.

"Sure!" Naruto laughed and proceeded to autograph the album cover.

"Thank you so much!" Jamie smiled, "I'll be at the show tomorrow!"

"That's great!" Naruto said sincerely.

"Stop bothering him with that," Sai scolded him, "he's probably fed up with talking about his band."

"It's okay," Naruto shrugged, "But tell me more about you, how'd you guys meet?"

"In a karate competition. It was a pretty tight fight, but Sai beat me."

"Pretty tight fight? I was being easy on you because you're hot, but if I'd given it my all, I'd have beaten you in less than 2 minutes."

"Yeah right," Jamie rolled his eyes.

Naruto chuckled – knowing Sai, he was probably telling the truth – but he made no comments.

"So you still do karate," he said instead, "that's great. Hey do you remember that time you fought Sasuke?" he asked, laughing.

"Of course I remember. It was really embarrassing. I was nervous because you were watching, and I had underestimated him. But it did motivate me to get better, so it's not all that bad."

"Wait a minute!" Jamie exclaimed, "Sai, you know Uchiha Sasuke too? Why didn't you invite him?"

"We weren't exactly friends," Sai said simply.

"Oh," Jamie looked a little disappointed.

From what Naruto could gather, it seemed Sai hadn't mentioned that he was Sasuke's boyfriend. Not that it really mattered, anyway; it was supposed to be a secret relationship after all.

"So why'd you move here to Kyoto, Sai?" he asked, changing the subject.

"I got a job in a dojo, as a sensei… I think I might do this as a career, actually."

"Cool! I'm happy for you," Naruto said sincerely, "And I'm glad you found someone, too," he added, smiling at the blond.

"It's been one month today, actually," he smiled back while taking Sai's hand.

"One month and you guys already live together?"

"No! I live on Kyoto University campus, in the doorms," Jamie explained.

"What are you studying in?" Naruto inquired.

"Law, well, criminal law, to be precise"

"Wow! And why did you decide to study in Japan? I'm guessing you're from England?"

"Ouch, and I thought my Japanese was flawless!" he laughed, "Yeah I'm from England, but I've always loved Japanese culture, and it was my dream to come live here, so…"

"And here you are," Naruto smiled.

"Yup!" he smiled back, and then frowned, "Hey Sai, we've been terrible hosts! Naruto, would you like to drink something? We have…" he got up to take a look in the fridge, "beer…"

"Yeah that's all we have," Sai said apologetically.

"That's okay!" He laughed, accepting a beer from Jamie, who also opened one for himself and for Sai.

They talked for about two hours, going from various subjects like karate and school, to politics and ethics. It was great for Naruto to be able to talk about those things that he used to discuss with his father. The crazy teenagers he was on tour with couldn't care less about these serious topics, and their conversations were pretty much always centered on, well, partying.

Eventually Naruto decided it was getting late, and that he should go. But Jamie wouldn't let him leave without talking about Chidori again.

"I really can't wait to see the show! So what songs are you gonna play?"

"You'll have to wait and see! But hey if you want I can tell you something exclusive, Sasuke and Kimi are gonna sing a duet at the end of the first part."

"Really? That's great! Hey I read somewhere that they were secretly dating, is that true?"

"I told you to stop reading those stupid magazines!" Sai rolled his eyes and crossed his arms, "It makes you sound like a stupid 14 year old girl."

"Sorry," Jamie said sheepishly, "I was just curious."

"They're just friends," Naruto informed. "All right, well I should go… So I'll see you at the show?"

"Yeah!" he exclaimed, "Sai's not coming though. He only listens to dance club music. Shame on him."

"Right, I should've known," Naruto chuckled, "But hey you guys should join us at the after party!"

"What club are you going to?" Sai inquired.

"Hmm I don't remember. I'll have to ask the others. But I'll text you tomorrow, okay?"

"Okay, thanks for the invitation," the raven smiled.

"Yeah! Thank you, it was great meeting you!" Jamie surprised him by giving him a hug.

Naruto hugged him back briefly, and then, a little awkwardly though, he also hugged Sai.

It was already 11 pm, so he decided to take a cab instead of risking getting lost and taking the wrong train again.

Later, when he finally arrived to his hotel room, he wasn't surprised to see that neither Takumi nor Kimiko were there, but he was very pleased to find Sasuke sitting quietly on his bed with his computer on his lap.

"Hey," he looked up at Naruto, "how was it?"

"A little awkward," he admitted as he went to sit behind Sasuke and started massaging his back, "but it was fun. Sai's dating a blond British dude."

"Okay," Sasuke chuckled. "Does he look like you? Cause that would be creepy."

"No he doesn't!" Naruto rolled his eyes even though Sasuke couldn't see him, "He's a little bit weird, though. I mean he studies criminal law, but he reads gossips magazines, how does that make sense? Anyway, Sai is really more mature now, well in his own way, I guess. You'll see for yourself tomorrow, I invited them to the after party."

"Whatever," the raven shrugged slightly, typing something on his keyboard, "Hmm that feels really good Naru," he whispered as he leaned back into the touch; Naruto had moved his hands to his hair.

"What are you doing?" Naruto asked softly.

"Hmm? Oh, I was just talking to Itachi, but he had to go to bed anyway."

Sasuke closed his laptop and put it away, and then he turned to face Naruto and kiss him.

"You taste like beer."

"Sorry," Naruto chuckled and ran to the bathroom to brush his teeth, "So how's your brother?"

"He's… okay, I guess."

"Just okay?" Naruto asked with his mouth full of toothpaste.

"Well, he's married to a nice girl, with a nice house, and a nice job. His life is all set already, just like my parents always wanted. But I mean… he's just 24."

"Yeah his life sounds depressing."

"Exactly. He's not happy. He says the only thing that makes him happy is talking to me."

"Aww," Naruto smiled sadly, going back on the bed with his boyfriend, "But hey, when he'll really get sick of his life, he'll just do something about it, don't you think?"

"God I hope you're right," Sasuke sighed.

"So where are the others?" Naruto asked softly, as he started stroking Sasuke's arm

"Partying," Sasuke smiled playfully, "So… they won't be back 'til like, 3 in the morning…"

"That's very interesting, Sasuke," Naruto whispered before leaning closer to kiss his pale neck.

"Hmm… Naruto…" he moaned, "You know, I'm a little stressed out about the show tomorrow…"

"Oh, poor baby," Naruto whispered in his ear playfully, "Do you need me to… help you relax?"

"I'd like that, yeah…"

Naruto pulled him up and removed his shirt, right before he removed his own and threw it on the floor. He kissed Sasuke passionately, running his hands on his smooth back. He was already getting hard.

He got rid of his lower garments, and pushing Sasuke down on the bed he kissed his toned chest and stomach. When he reached his sweat pants he pulled them down with his hands. But for his boxers, Naruto had a much more fun idea. He grabbed the hem with his teeth and slid them down Sasuke's legs – the latter lifting his hips to help him. When Naruto's lip brushed Sasuke's hard cock he moaned and arched his back even more.

Naruto smiled teasingly, and then proceeded to rub their erections against each other.

"God, Naru, you're so fucking sexy…"

Sasuke suddenly put his pale hands on each side of Naruto's waist, and he flipped them over, climbing on top.

"So impatient," Naruto smirked.

"I don't hear you complaining," Sasuke smiled and kissed him roughly, grinding him at the same time.

"Sasuke…" Naruto moaned in a needy voice, putting his hands on Sasuke's hips. "Ahh… I want you."

"Who's impatient now?" he smirked, but reached down for his suitcase, and picked up a small bottle of lube.

He applied some on his fingers first, and stretched Naruto while continuing to kiss his lips passionately. The blond felt pure pleasure jolt through him, but he wanted more…

"Sasuke, ahh, please…"

The raven applied some lube on his hardened member, and then placed himself and slid inside Naruto. The latter kept moaning his lover's name as he arched his back and closed his eyes.

"Look at me," Sasuke whispered.

Naruto opened his eyes and locked them with Sasuke's onyx ones. He smiled and, with his hands behind Sasuke's back he pulled him closer to kiss him.

But suddenly Sasuke pulled away from the kiss, and also from inside him.

"Why'd you? Oh…" Naruto understood without Sasuke even having to tell him.

He turned around so that Sasuke could take him from behind. He knew his boyfriend very well by now, and sometimes just by the horny look in his eyes he could tell what he wanted. So Sasuke slid inside him again, this time with Naruto on all fours and his pale hands firmly on each side of Naruto's ass.

"Oh fuck Sasuke that feels so good…"

Sasuke leaned closer to him to kiss the nape of his neck softly, making Naruto moan again. Then he slid one of his hands towards Naruto's erection, and he started stroking it, matching the rhythm of his own thrusts.

"Ahh… I'm gonna… Sasuke I'm so close…"

"Ahh… me too… Naruto…"

They tensed in one last blissful moment and came together. Naruto felt way too good to care about the stains of the sheets, and he just let himself fall. Sasuke also lay down beside him lazily, a contented smile on his full, pale lips. They looked so delicious that Naruto just had to kiss them again.

"Hmm… Naruto… Thank you. I really needed this," Sasuke whispered against his lips.

"You did?"

"Hmm"

"Me too," Naruto whispered, burying his face into his lover's chest.

They stayed like this for a few moments; just cuddled up together. But suddenly the door opened and they both tensed. The lights were closed, but still Naruto quickly pulled the sheets up to cover them completely.

"Sorry guys I didn't want to wake you up," Takumi said, closing the door and slipping off his shoes. At least he didn't open the lights…

"It's okay we weren't sleeping," Naruto said, then cursed himself because, well, that sentence kind of gave them away, didn't it?

"I'm sorry if I interrupted anything," he whispered before disappearing into the bathroom.

A few seconds later they heard the shower running.

"I think there's something wrong with him," Naruto frowned, pulling away from Sasuke slightly.

"Why do you say that?"

"I don't know, he sounds depressed."

"He always sounds depressed," Sasuke argued.

"I dunno… he sounds more depressed than usual."

"Maybe you're right…" Sasuke said after a moment.

When Takumi came out of bathroom in just his boxers, he threw himself on his bed and crawled under the sheets. It was clear he didn't feel like talking, but Naruto couldn't help it, he just wanted to help.

"Hey, Takumi, are you okay man?"

"…"

"Are you sleeping?" Naruto asked even though he knew it wasn't possible to fall asleep so fast.

"No"

Naruto turned so that he faced the other bed, and Sasuke curled up, spooning him.

"What's going on?" Naruto insisted.

Takumi sighed shakily and also turned on his side to face them. Naruto wasn't sure because it was too dark, but he could've sworn he saw tears on his cheeks.

"It's nothing… Kimi…"

"What happened?"

"She just left with another guy tonight," he chuckled dryly, "no big deal. I'm used to it. I'm probably just drunk and tired, or something…"

"No big deal!" Naruto exclaimed, sitting up. He absently noticed that Sasuke pulled up the sheet to make sure it was covering him properly. "How can you say that?" he asked, offended. "She's cheating on you with other guys?"

"Well it's no big news, Naruto. Everyone knows she's sleeping around. She's not even trying to hide it. We have an open relationship," he said that last part a bit mockingly, and that didn't go unnoticed by Naruto.

"But you're not sleeping around?" Sasuke suddenly entered the conversation.

He laughed, but it was mixed with sobs, "No… Well I tried it once. I met a girl at a bar and I fucked her. But it felt wrong, and it wasn't fun at all. I wanted… to make Kimi jealous. I wanted to hurt her," he smiled bitterly, "to show her what she was doing to me…"

"And?" Naruto asked in a little voice.

"She didn't care," his laughing died in his throat, "she didn't give a shit. Anyway, I'm sorry," he sighed, turning around in the bed so that they were facing his back, "I don't even know why I'm talking about this. It's probably cause I'm a little drunk."

"It's okay," Naruto said sadly, "you _should_ talk about it. And I mean… it's just not healthy for you. This relationship hurts you more than anything…"

"No shit," Takumi choked out.

Naruto sighed, and Sasuke wrapped his arms around him softly to pull him down.

"I'm sorry Naruto," Takumi whispered, his back still facing them, "I didn't mean to sound harsh. You're such a great guy, and I know you're just trying to help but… I'm not an idiot. Or maybe I am, but… Oh what am I saying? It doesn't even make sense…"

"I know you're not an idiot," Naruto replied.

"I just… love her so much."

"I know," Naruto said softly.

"Anyway… thanks for listening to my crappy sentimental… crap."

"You can talk to us anytime all right? We're here for you, that's what friends are for," the blond insisted.

Sasuke pulled him closer and kissed his neck softly, "We should just go to sleep," he whispered, "and talk more another time."

Naruto sighed and nodded slightly, giving up – for now. But he really didn't like seeing people suffer like that. He had a harder time than usual falling asleep, but eventually the sound of Sasuke's even breathing lulled him to sleep.

- Chidori -

As beautiful as the guitar melody played by Takumi was at the beginning of the song, it was clear that the fans were starting to get a little impatient; they wanted to see Chidori, and the Black Souls had already played a bunch of songs now.

But when Sasuke walked on the stage, dressed all in black with his raven bangs hiding one of his eyes and his pale hand clutching his mike tightly, the screams erupted all throughout the crowd.

_I wanted you to know_

_I love the way you laugh_

_I want to hold you high and steal your pain away_

_I keep your photograph_

_And I know it serves me well_

_I wanna hold you high and steal your pain_

The fans stopped screaming to be able to hear his voice better. Sasuke, now standing right beside Kimiko, glanced sideways at her for a half-second, and they started singing together.

_Cause I'm broken_

_When I'm lonesome_

_And I don't feel right_

_When you're gone away_

_You've gone away_

_You don't feel me here anymore_

_The worst is over now_

_And we can breathe again_

_I wanna hold you high, you steal my pain away_

_There's so much left to learn_

_And no one left to fight_

_I wanna hold you high and steal your pain_

_Cause I'm broken_

_When I'm open_

_And I don't feel like_

_I am strong enough_

_Cause I'm broken_

_When I'm lonesome_

_And I don't feel right_

_When you're gone away_

For a moment there were only instrumentals, and the fans cheered loudly. This gave Sasuke more energy and adrenaline, and closing his eyes he sang the chorus along with Kimiko with as much passion as he could.

_Cause I'm broken_

_When I'm open_

_And I don't feel like_

_I am strong enough_

_Cause I'm broken_

_When I'm lonesome_

_And I don't feel right_

_When you're gone away_

The crowd was clearly moved, and almost ecstatic at having heard their beloved singer unexpectedly like that. The sound of their clapping and screaming was still buzzing in Sasuke's ears even as he returned back stage with his friends. Before he even realized it Kimiko was hugging him tightly.

"That was so intense Sasuke!"

He smiled and hugged her back, and when they pulled away he glanced at Takumi.

"They loved it," Sasuke said simply.

Takumi made a little smile; the first one he'd made since the night before, and nodded slightly.

"Thanks for doing this song with us," he said sincerely.

"No, thank _you_ for writing it," Sasuke replied.

Suigetsu suddenly put his hand on Sasuke's shoulder, "This is all really touching guys, I'm serious, I think I cried a little and Ino's gonna have to do my eyeliner again but, now we need our singer back!"

"Suigetsu's right!" Kiba exclaimed, "Let's go play more emo shit!"

Naruto laughed, "Okay, maybe not the best choice of words, but he does have a point! Let's go rock that stage gentlemen!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes and shook his head at his idiotic friends, but he felt really good, and he followed them to the stage willingly. His stress was completely gone, replaced by pure passion and energy. He just loved being on stage, and it also helped that he felt thousand times better than at the previous show.

So they did "rock that stage" like Naruto had said. They were getting more used to this with every show, but it still felt new, of course, and every time seemed more intense than the last. At least that's how Sasuke felt, and glancing at the crowd and these crazy fans he realized he really loved them, in a way. How ironic, that he, an antisocial bastard – according to his friends anyway – enjoyed being surrounded by so many people.

But he did enjoy it, and he gave all he had into each one of the songs they played. And perhaps that was why the very next day, in the news, it was written that this show was Chidori's best one so far.

TBC

Song: Broken, by Seether and Amy Lee


	9. Parties, tattoos and empty sex

Chidori

Chapter 9 – Parties, tattoos and empty sex

Yoshikazu had decided to hold the after party at a small local bar this time (apparently he was the one who took care of such matters). Everyone was tagging along; even Karin and Kabuto. Sasuke was surprised to see them join the party, but he was too busy currently making out with Naruto at the back corner of the bar to comment on it.

"Do you think we should go back to the hotel?" Sasuke asked huskily.

Naruto pulled away and laughed lightly, "We barely just got here!"

"So what?"

"So, let's wait just a little bit longer. Sai just texted me, they're on their way."

"I don't care about Sai…"

"I know babe, I know," Naruto said teasingly, "just be patient."

There was a little dance floor and Suigetsu and Hiroshi, as well as Yoshikazu and Ino were already dancing on it. Sasuke and Naruto decided to rather join the others at their large table near the bar counter.

"Your performance was very intense this time Sasuke-kun," Kabuto told him, "And you too, Kimi-chan. Orochimaru-sama will be very pleased! And I personally think you should continue singing duets."

"Thank you Kabuto-san!" Kimiko exclaimed, "I also really liked singing with you, Sasuke!"

Sasuke just nodded slightly to thank them, but remained silent. Naruto squeezed his hand slightly, as if to remind him to just stay patient for a little more time. Looking at his other friends Sasuke noticed that Takumi seemed in a much better mood than before; probably because Kimiko was staying by his side and not, well, dancing and doing other things with other guys. As for Kiba, he looked bored and glanced at Yoshikazu once in a while as if some fan girls would suddenly pop out right beside him. The rest of the time he was staring at Karin, who was herself staring at Suigetsu dancing with Hiroshi.

"Suigetsu never told me he was bi," she suddenly blurted out, looking straight at Sasuke, "did he even tell you? You're supposed to be his best friend."

"Well he didn't need to, I kinda knew…"

"How?" Karin asked.

"I don't know… He was always really open-minded…"

"It can't be just that," she argued.

"Well, I mean, he was always asking for details about my sex life with Naruto," Sasuke chuckled.

Thankfully Naruto didn't hear that, instead he suddenly stood up and waved his hands, "Sai! Jamie, over here!"

The others glanced at the two new guys; a really pale guy with short raven hair that Sasuke immediately recognized as Sai because he hadn't changed one bit, and another pale guy with some freckles on his face and pale blond hair.

"Oh my God, the whole band is here!" the one named Jamie exclaimed, smiling nervously, "Guys, it is such an honour to meet you!" he said, but he was pretty much only looking at Sasuke, "You were amazing tonight! That was the best show of my life, honestly."

"Thanks man," Kiba smiled.

"Have a seat," Naruto offered.

Sai went to get drinks, and Kiba followed him, while Jamie sat in between Naruto and Karin.

"Kimi-chan, and you too man," he glanced at Takumi, obviously a little embarrassed because he didn't know his name, "you guys really shone tonight. I really enjoyed the first part! There are way too many shows in which the first part sucks and you can't wait to see your favourite band, you know? But not tonight, and that can only means that you guys are talented and have a great future as a band!"

"Wow," Kimiko smiled, "thank you! That's very sweet." Then she turned to her boyfriend, "Do you want to dance a little bit?"

He nodded slightly and, taking her hand, led her to the dance floor, where they started dancing beside their other friends.

"At least tonight she's spending time with him," Naruto told Sasuke in a low voice so that no one else could hear, "Do you think she feels guilty?"

"I don't know," Sasuke shook his head, "she's really hard to figure out. But I don't think she feels guilty. She probably just has a lot of affection for Takumi, and she feels sad that well, he's depressed because of her."

"But that's just wrong, what she's doing," Naruto insisted, "no?"

"I don't know much about right and wrong," Sasuke shrugged slightly, "but my guess would be that she warned him a while ago that this would be her lifestyle choice, to have an open relationship, and that he agreed to it. It's probably just a whole lot harder than he thought."

"I couldn't do it," Naruto locked eyes with him, "I just couldn't."

"Yeah me neither," Sasuke made a little smile and brought their joined hands to his lips to kiss Naruto's.

"You guys are a couple?" Jamie suddenly exclaimed, staring at them in shock.

"What, Sai didn't tell you?" Kiba - who had just gotten back from the bar with Sai – exclaimed, confused. "Of course they're a couple. Actually that's an understatement! They're crazy for each other and inseparable!"

"Well said, Kiba," Karin laughed and Kiba smiled at her.

Well, that was possibly their first exchange since their breakup, Sasuke thought, and at least they were smiling, and not killing each other.

"It's a secret though," Naruto told Jamie, "we don't want the media and fans to know about it."

"I understand," he nodded, "but oh my God that's really cool! How come you didn't tell me Sai?"

The short-haired raven just shrugged helplessly, "Well I didn't even know if they were still together and… I didn't want it to be the only thing you talked about when you met Naruto."

"I see your point," Jamie chuckled, "but I mean I like you guys even more now! My favourite band and the singer and guitarist gay and together, that's awesome! And hot," he added.

"Well…" Naruto laughed lightly, "thank you, I guess."

Sasuke rolled his eyes and decided to go to the bar. Having to endure stupid conversations sober was too hard.

"I'll be right back," he whispered in Naruto's ear.

While he ordered a strong drink, he noticed that Karin had followed him.

"Make it two," she told the barmaid.

"Are you okay?" he asked her.

"Look at him," she ignored his question and glanced at Suigetsu and Hiroshi, "don't you think it's weird?"

Sasuke sighed as he paid for their drinks, and instead of returning to the table they just stayed there, leaning on the bar counter beside each other, staring at the dance floor.

"Two guys dancing together? Ugh, you're right it's so weird," he teased.

"Oh my God Sasuke did you just make a joke?"

He just chuckled and glanced sideways at her, "So you didn't answer my question. Are you okay?"

She made a sad little smile as she looked towards her ex. Kiba and Naruto were talking enthusiastically; about their hair apparently, since they were running their fingers through their high lighted and spiky locks. Ah, these two, always having such deep intellectual conversations.

And then she glanced at Suigetsu, who was still having the time of his life on the dance floor with Hiroshi. They were pretty good dancers, actually, and if Sasuke would be honest he'd admit he found it kind of hot, which was weird since Suigetsu was his best friend.

"How could I be okay?" she finally answered, her voice a little shaky, "I've lost them both."

Sasuke sighed heavily; what could he answer to that?

"I knew this would happen," she continued in such a low voice that Sasuke could barely hear her, "I love them both, and now I lost them both…"

"Stop saying that," Sasuke replied, "You need to decide who you want to be with, and whoever that is, tell him how you really feel, and just try harder."

"I never thought you'd give me relationship advice one day," she glanced at him, smiling.

"Yeah well, it's not that complicated."

"You're right," she sighed, "thing is, it's not that easy. Hey Naruto keeps glancing at us. Let's go, I don't want to keep you from your boyfriend too long."

"All right," Sasuke sighed and followed her.

- Chidori -

Sasuke was a little nervous as they sat on the couch of a tattoo and piercing store the next day. There was a low table with several books with tattoo designs in them, and Naruto and Ino were looking at them even though they already had their drawings ready.

Ino was a really good drawer, and she had decided to do her own design. It was a purple and black tribal, with a few small flowers and leaves in the middle, and she wanted it on her lower back. Admiring her talent, Naruto had asked her to do his own tattoo design too. It was also a tribal, which he wanted on his left shoulder and upper arm. It looked like flames, actually, and it was mostly black, but with some orange and blue also.

They were currently waiting for the tattoo artists to copy the drawings.

"Are you sure this is a good place?" Sasuke asked.

Yoshikazu, sitting in front of him and next to Ino, rolled his eyes, "For the hundredth time, dude, it _is_ a good place! Their reputation is excellent, and the guy who made my tattoo is friends with these guys," he waved his hand towards the two young men behind the counter.

For some reason that didn't make Sasuke feel any better.

"You're more nervous than me!" Naruto laughed.

"Yeah, well, if he draws it wrong or hurts you unnecessarily, I'm gonna kill him," Sasuke replied in a low voice, making the three others laugh. But he wasn't kidding.

"All right I'm ready!" one of the tattooists said enthusiastically, "You can follow me!" he told Naruto, "Oh, really nice design by the way!"

"Thanks! My friend drew it," Naruto pointed at Ino, and she smiled.

"Well it's pretty awesome!" the guy smiled back, "So are you ready Naruto?"

"Yeah! Hey can he come in too?" he asked as Sasuke hesitated to follow them.

"Sure, yeah no problem!"

Naruto sat in a low, comfortable chair in the tattooist's stall, and Sasuke sat on a little bench on his right side.

He took Naruto's right hand in his, and tried to calm down. He wasn't even the one getting a tattoo, and he was really nervous.

But as the guy started making the tattoo, Naruto reassured Sasuke, saying it didn't hurt that bad.

Two hours later though, Sasuke's hand was starting to hurt. The skin on Naruto's arm was all red and swollen, and even when the artist was just swiping a delicate cloth to wipe off blood and extra ink, Naruto flinched in pain.

"Almost finished!" he encouraged Naruto, "I just got to fill in one last little part…"

He finished and cleaned it, and then looked at it with a satisfied look on his face.

"There you go! You can take a look in the mirror, and then I'll wrap it up!"

"Thanks," Naruto sighed, relieved, standing and finally letting go of Sasuke's hand. "Sorry…"

"It's okay, I think you just broke a joint or two," he teased.

Naruto chuckled and looked at his left shoulder and arm in the mirror, and his face broke into a grin.

"Awesome!"

"You like it?" the artist asked.

"I love it!"

"Great!"

Sasuke had to admit it looked bad ass, and at the same time it fit Naruto's style perfectly.

Once it was wrapped up in a bandage, the tattooist told him how to take care of it.

"In four hours you can take the bandage off. You need to wash it with a soft soap and to put lotion on it. You'll have to put lotion three or four times a day – just don't let it become too dry. Oh and no swimming or going into the sun for at least a month; and even then use sun cream."

"All right," Naruto nodded, "I got it. Well thank you so much!"

"No problem it was my pleasure!"

They went to the cash to pay – 250$ in total – and then joined Ino and Yoshikazu outside. Ino's tattoo was smaller so it had taken less time.

"Did it hurt a lot?" she asked.

"It wasn't that bad, but at the end I really couldn't wait for him to finish!" Naruto answered, "And you?"

"Yes, it was so painful!" she exclaimed, "Oh my God, and it was so hard to stay still!"

"The back is one of the most painful places, so I've heard, and experienced myself," Yoshi said.

"Hey can I see yours?" Naruto inquired.

Sasuke watched as Yoshikazu took his t-shirt off completely. Show off, he thought. But it was true that the large black wings on his back were really beautifully done. And then, he turned around so they could admire his muscles, on purpose of course, Sasuke was certain. But it was obvious it was to impress Ino, mostly. Yoshi glanced at her and she blushed when she was caught staring, and then he put his shirt back on.

"So, what do you guys want to do?" Naruto asked.

They had two days off before leaving Japan for the next show, and as he had told Sasuke before, Naruto wanted to make the most of it.

"We should visit Kyoto a little!" Yoshikazu exclaimed. "It's such a great city, should be fun!"

Sasuke had to admit Yoshikazu's enthusiasm was contagious, and Ino was right, because it was obvious there was more to him than just a partier and a ladies' man.

They did some sightseeing for the rest of the day, visiting a few temples, parks and some boutiques also. Ino took pictures with her cell, and she was constantly smiling and laughing with Yoshikazu and Naruto. Even Sasuke joined in most of the time.

At the end of the day they went to a nice restaurant downtown, with outside tables and traditional Japanese music playing, where they ate and drank sake until it was dark outside.

"Do you think it's okay that we're keeping the bandage for more than four hours?" Naruto asked Ino at some point, moving his left arm a little, but then he winced in pain and stopped.

"I think it doesn't matter," she shrugged.

"No it's okay, you can remove it later just before going to bed," Yoshi told them. "And just come see me if you freak out about something, so I can tell you if it's normal!"

"I can also ask Kimi," Naruto said, taking a sip of sake.

"True," Yoshi nodded. "Hey Sasuke, you liked working with Kimi?"

"Yeah," he shrugged slightly, "She's a talented singer."

"That's for sure! But she can be annoying sometimes. I remember when we were together and making music, she could get on my nerves," he laughed.

"She's a little bit crazy," Sasuke admitted, "But it's not a bad thing, I mean, I'm used to working with crazy people," he glanced at Naruto.

"Hey!" Naruto protested, laughing, "Well at least I'm not emo!"

"He can't be as emo as Takumi," Yoshi replied, casually throwing his arm on the back of Ino's chair.

"He's not that bad," Sasuke argued, but mostly he was just curious as to what Yoshi would answer.

The blue-haired guy took a sip of sake and sighed, "I'm not just talking about his looks. Sure he's got the stereotypes; long black hair, eyeliner, piercings, skinny, dark clothes and all that… But it's also how he is, you know? He's _always_ depressed - even when he's high. He's constantly sad. And he stays with Kimi even though she sleeps around, and he knows perfectly well that's not gonna change!"

"That's so sad," Ino said in a little voice.

"Maybe you'll think I'm heartless, but I don't really find it that sad anymore," Yoshi shrugged. "I've known the guy for four years, and he's always been like that! And he's been with Kimi for like, what, at least two years now! Anyway, at least he writes good music and he's a great guitarist…"

"I'm gonna try to help him," Naruto said after a moment of silence.

"Try all you want!" Yoshi chuckled, "We've all tried. Me, Hiro, even Kimi! She actually wanted him to break up because she could see he was suffering and not at all into the whole open relationship thing. But he stayed with her anyway."

"But when you were with Kimiko," Naruto frowned, "it wasn't an open relationship?"

"No! But she cheated on me, and… I decided to break up. Anyway, I don't really get why you want to help him, Naruto."

"Naruto's just like that!" Ino smiled, looking at the blond fondly, "He always helps people. I remember when he helped our friend Gaara, and Sai, in a way, and also Sasuke. I didn't know you before," she added, glancing at him, "but Karin told me you changed and became a better person."

"I guess that's true," Sasuke admitted.

Before meeting Naruto, he used to be kind of a heartless jerk, even to his friends most of the time. Well, he supposed Naruto had changed him, in a way.

"I'm awesome like that," the blond smiled.

- Chidori -

Later that night, once they were back at their hotel room, they found Takumi alone, lying in his bed and writing in his notebook. When Naruto asked, he told them Kimiko was gone partying with Hiroshi, Kiba and Suigetsu.

When Naruto started trying to take the bandage off, Sasuke softly pushed his right hand and helped him instead. He frowned, worried, when he saw the still swollen skin and the leaking ink.

"I should go wash it, I guess," Naruto said, making his way to the bathroom.

"Wait!" Takumi stood up and fumbled through his girlfriend's stuff. "Don't use the hotel's soap. Use this," he threw him a small bottle of unscented, hypoallergenic soap.

"Thanks!" Naruto exclaimed as he proceeded to clean his arm in the sink.

On the meantime Sasuke opened his laptop. Checking his emails, he was disappointed when he saw that there weren't any from his brother.

"Here, use this to put on it," Takumi said, handing a bottle of lotion to Naruto when he was done cleaning his tattoo.

"You sure she won't mind that I used her stuff?" Naruto asked.

"Yeah I'm sure, don't worry about it."

Sasuke's eyes returned to his computer screen. He never received much email, simply because only a few people had his address. The emails sent by fans were all directed to Karin's email address, and she was the one who dealt with that. She even answered some of them – according to what she'd told him, anyway.

When it particularly concerned Kiba, Naruto or Suigetsu, she sent it back to them. But even if it concerned him – which it did most of the time – Sasuke didn't want to read it.

Naruto's cell suddenly vibrated, bringing him out of his thoughts.

"Hey dad!" the blond answered it, smiling, "Yeah I'm good, you?"

Sasuke listened to Naruto's conversation unfocusedly as he continued checking his emails. There were some from his mother, one from Jugo…

"Hey dad you know what? I got a tattoo!" Naruto exclaimed through the phone, "No it wasn't that bad! … Of course it looks good! … No I don't think you should tell her. She'll have a heart attack. … All right dad I miss you too! Bye!"

"Hey Naru," Sasuke said and his boyfriend joined him on the bed, "Jugo and Hinata are getting married."

"Really? That's awesome! When?"

"They haven't decided yet," Sasuke replied, "they want us to be there, so they'll probably wait 'til like, October, after our tour."

"That's so sweet!" Naruto smiled, "Hey who's that one from?" he asked, curious, as he glanced at the last email that Sasuke hadn't opened yet.

"It's from Haku, actually…" Sasuke informed him, but instead of opening it he just closed his laptop. "I'll probably just delete it."

"I think you should." Naruto shivered, "that Haku kind of scares me."

Sasuke wrapped his arms around Naruto and kissed him softly.

"Don't worry," he whispered, "I'd never let him hurt you."

- Chidori -

Kiba was bored out of his mind. This wasn't fair. They had carded him inside the club, and of course he was only 19 so he couldn't buy any alcohol. Kimi and Suigetsu were also 19, and they hadn't even been asked for their id.

The brunet pouted as he walked lazily on the sidewalk, with his hands in his pockets. He was waiting for a bus, but he wasn't really used to public transportation like this and he didn't even know if he was waiting at the right place, or at the right time, actually.

He was about to call a cab when he heard a feminine voice call his name.

"Kiba! There you are! I was looking for you everywhere!"

He turned around and smiled when he saw Kimiko running towards him. She threw herself in his arms and he caught her, laughing.

"Why are you sulking all alone outside?" she asked teasingly.

"They carded me," he sighed.

"This club sucks anyway," she laughed. "Let's go somewhere else!"

She grabbed his hand and they started walking. Kiba didn't mind; it was better than just going back to his hotel room alone and depressed. It was raining mildly outside, and Kimiko's long hair was curling a little because of the wetness in the air. It looked so soft, and Kiba had to resist the urge to caress it.

She looked up at him, "So what do you wanna do? Dancing or just drinking? Oh, and I have a little extra something too, if you know what I mean!" she added as she took out a tiny plastic bag with two pills in it from her skinny jeans' pocket.

"Anything you want baby!" he laughed.

They went to a crowded, popular night club, and while no one was looking Kimi gave him one of the pills. He put it on his tongue and downed half his drink in one go. He watched as Kimiko imitated him.

"Who do you get these from, anyway?" he asked, curious, as he reached a hand to caress the soft skin on her arm.

"Kabuto," she answered simply.

"Really?" Kiba frowned, "But he's like, our boss!"

"Not really," she shrugged, "he's our manager. Orochimaru is his and our boss. But Kabuto's underpaid, so he sells drugs on the side."

"Wow," Kiba nodded slowly, "I'd never have guessed."

"As long as I don't screw up in the shows, he doesn't care if I take drugs," she smiled. "You know, I really like you Kiba."

"I really like you too," the brunet held his breath, leaning closer to her.

"You're such a nice guy, and you're funny, and so simple. I really like that."

"Well same here." Kiba chuckled, slowly leaning even closer, "You're just so cute…"

She threw her head back slightly and her smile widened, and then she bit her bottom lip. Kiba thought she was just the cutest thing in the world, and now they were really close and he was about to kiss those lips…

"Come on!" she suddenly ran towards the dance floor, tugging him by the arm.

He laughed and grabbed her thin waist to stop her. She let out a little scream and laughed as he pulled her closer. They started dancing and she threw her hands around his neck, tilting her head to the side. He brushed her hair behind her shoulder with one hand and with the other, still placed at her waist, pulled her closer, and he kissed her passionately.

It was different than with Karin, or Sarah. They were both really tall, and Kimiko was a lot shorter. So as they danced he decided to suddenly grab her by the waist firmly and he pulled her up so that her feet were in the air and her face was at the same height as his.

"You won't be able to keep me like this forever," she chuckled after a passionate kiss and he put her down.

Suddenly he longed for her touch even more than before, and he smiled for no reason; he was just happy. He felt good, relaxed, careless and free, and he had this beautiful girl in his arms, and the night was theirs…

- Chidori -

_Dear Sasuke,_

_I've wanted to write you a letter for a long time, but I couldn't find the courage, or the right words. __You've always been the one that was so good with words. As for me, I can only try to express what I feel through this message._

_When we were together, we were so young. I couldn't possibly know the meaning of love, but now I know. What I feel for you is love, Sasuke, I need you to know this. I've never felt happier than when I was with you, and ever since you broke up with me the only thing I've been thinking about is you._

_We could've been happy together. I just know it, and I need you to give me a second chance. I'll show you how happy I can make you. I'd change for you, I didn't do it back then but now I know better. I'll dress like a normal guy for you; I'll be who you want me to be. I'll live only for you. I promise._

_I've heard rumours that you were now dating a girl named Kimiko. Whether you are still with Naruto or with this girl now, it doesn't matter, Sasuke, because I know you belong with me. So you should forget about them and think about us. What we could be, what we will be, because it is our destiny, I just know it. _

_So please answer me as soon as possible. I've already bought my tickets and I'll be going to your next shows, so please tell me where I can meet you there. I need to see you again, and to talk to you alone, without others interrupting and bothering us._

_Do you remember what I once told you? If I can't have you, no one can._

_Yours always,_

_Haku_

Sasuke sighed heavily as he face palmed, feeling nothing but utter despair concerning this damn email. On a whim he'd deleted it, but then he'd returned in his deleted emails section to read it.

Since Takumi was asleep and Kimiko still wasn't back, Naruto, worried about his tattoo, had gone to ask a few questions to Yoshikazu, hoping he'd still be awake in this late hour of the night. So Sasuke had given in to his curiosity and read Haku's email. And now he regretted it.

This just wasn't sane… That guy needed help, but Sasuke didn't know what to do about it. And he didn't want to tell Naruto because he didn't want to worry him even more.

So he decided to just ignore it, and he figured, if he ignored him long enough, Haku would get bored and would probably meet someone else and forget about him. Except Sasuke was just trying to convince himself… But, what could he do about it anyway? He sighed again as he closed his laptop and fell back on the pillows, waiting for Naruto to come back.

- Chidori -

Naruto knocked on the door, and waited nervously. A few seconds later he heard loud footsteps and the door was opened by none other than Hiroshi, wearing only black boxers and his hard-on more than obvious.

"Hey there gorgeous, you wanted to join us?" he slurred; he was evidently more than a little drunk.

"Err no I was looking for Yoshi…"

"I'd never fuck Naruto anyway, Hiro!" Suigetsu said, rolling on the bed to look at them, "I know he's hot but, I'd never do that to Sasuke, cause he's my best friend."

"He's a little bit drunk," Hiroshi explained apologetically.

"So are you, I can see," Naruto replied.

"Maybe…"

"Is that…" Naruto's blue eyes widened as he glanced at the other bed in the back of the room, "Is that Kimi? With Kiba?"

"Shh keep your voice down baby," Hiroshi told him, "I don't want them to wake up!"

"Fuck…" Naruto sighed, "Anyway, Yoshi's clearly not here, so…"

"You're leaving already?" Hiroshi said, disappointed, "Well, g'night."

"Good night Naruto!" Suigetsu smiled. "You should go back to Sasuke now."

"I will," the blond said, still a bit shocked, before quickly walking away.

When he returned to his room, Sasuke looked up at him, frowning.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah… I guess," he sat on the bed and looked down at Sasuke, "Hey are _you_ okay? You look… depressed."

"I'm fine, I'm just tired," Sasuke made a little smile and took his left arm to look at it. "Did you talk to Yoshikazu?"

"No, he wasn't in his room. He's probably sleeping with Ino."

"You can ask him in the morning. But I'm sure this is normal, there's just a little bit of ink leaking."

"Yeah… Hey Kiba's…" Naruto glanced back at Takumi to make sure he was sleeping, "Kiba's sleeping with Kimi. And I'm pretty sure they… you know…"

Sasuke sighed, and he pulled him closer, careful not to touch his left shoulder.

"Come here. Don't worry about that," he whispered. "Once everyone's slept with everyone maybe they'll get bored and just stop…"

"It's not funny," Naruto said but he was smiling.

They were both really tired, and they fell asleep into each other's arms. Sasuke felt safe and warm in his boyfriend's arms, he wasn't worrying about Haku anymore, or about Itachi, or about Karin, or anything else, and again he wondered what he would do without him.

TBC


	10. Dark cloud

Chidori

Chapter 10 – Dark cloud

_Cause I'm broken_

_When I'm open_

_And I don't feel like_

_I am strong enough_

_Cause I'm broken_

_When I'm lonesome_

_And I don't feel right_

_When you're gone away_

Their Korean fans' enthusiastic screams erupted with the end of the song, and Kimiko's beautiful face broke into a wide smile as she looked at Sasuke. He glanced back at her, and the next thing he knew she was kissing him. In the spur of the moment he kissed back, and the screams became even louder all around them.

They pulled away and hurried back stage. Only then did Sasuke realize what had just happened. Kiba and Suigetsu were smiling, excited as ever to go on stage, Yoshikazu was hugging Ino tightly – they were now officially dating – and the rest were also smiling and in a good mood. Except Naruto.

"Whatever happened to, It's stupid Naruto don't worry I'm not gonna do it," Naruto told him, his deep blue eyes clearly hurt.

Two days ago, while at the Kansai International airport near Kyoto, waiting for their plane, Sasuke had received a phone call from Orochimaru. Their producer had asked him to encourage the rumours by pretending to date Kimiko, saying it was "good for business". Of course he'd refused and told Naruto that he wouldn't do it.

"I didn't plan that…" he said lamely. "You know how she is…" he said in a low voice so that Kimiko wouldn't hear them.

"You kissed back," Naruto replied sadly.

"I…"

"Guys!" Kabuto suddenly exclaimed, "It's your turn! Let's go!"

"Let's go! Let's go!" Kiba repeated enthusiastically.

On stage, Sasuke grabbed the mike again and, letting himself be filled by the music, started singing.

_Don't look down__, don't look back, I am beside you_

_Close your eyes, know I'm here_

_I know it's hard to let go all that defines you_

_You feel like you'll never be whole again_

While Suigetsu was singing the next two lines Sasuke locked eyes with Naruto, and the blond nodded slightly and made a little smile, as if to tell him they'd talk after, and that for now they needed to give a good show. Sasuke just loved him so much, and he sang with even more passion in each word, because these words, he had written them for Naruto.

_We will find a way__ to erase the past_

_Stay with me, stay with me_

_In my arms, you'll be fine, I'll never let go_

_All you lost will come again, just stay here with me_

_Never look back, never again, it's over_

_Everything ends here in my arms_

_Don't give in, don't let your memories break you_

_Let me take you away from here_

_We will find a way, to make this last_

_Stay with me, stay with me_

_In my arms you'll be fine, I'll never let go_

_All you lost will come again, just stay here with me_

_Never look back, never again, it's over_

_Everything ends here in my arms_

_I'll be here forever_

_Everything ends here in my arms_

_I'll be here forever_

Song after song he put as much love and passion as he could in them, and once in a while he kept glancing at Naruto. At the end of the show he spoke the little Korean he knew to thank the fans and then he followed his band mates back stage.

"I got some girls to introduce to you guys, they're waiting in the V.I.P. room!" Yoshikazu told Kiba and Suigetsu, "I am the luckiest guy on Earth of course, with my beautiful girlfriend," he pulled a blushing Ino closer and kissed her, "But I thought you guys might be curious about the South Korean culture…"

"Ah man I love you!" Kiba exclaimed.

"Let's get ready for the party people!" Suigetsu laughed as he followed his friends to said V.I.P. room.

Karin sighed and started cleaning up and gathering a few things that Ino had forgotten behind.

"You still mad at me?" Sasuke whispered, taking Naruto's hand hesitantly.

The blond smiled and wrapped his arms around him, "How could I be? When I know you were singing for me…"

"Every word…"

"Sasuke…" Naruto whispered, pulling away.

"You know it didn't mean anything. It won't happen again. I'll talk to her…"

"I know," Naruto put his finger on his lips to silence him, "I know. So, Sasuke, Karin," he turned to glance at the red-head girl, "Should we go party as well?"

"I'm going," she smiled weakly, "I really fucking need a drink."

"Okay…" Naruto frowned, but, keeping his fingers intertwined with Sasuke's he followed her.

Twenty minutes later they were enjoying Seoul's crazy night life. The club they had just gotten into was one of the most crowded, and the colored lights effects were amazing, the music was way too loud of course, but at least it was good, and the atmosphere was euphoric.

The whole group was there, plus the two pretty Korean fan girls clinging to Suigetsu and Kiba. Of course, the two guys couldn't understand a word they were saying, but they couldn't care less. The only one that had chosen to go back to the hotel was, of course, Kabuto.

They spread around the bar, waiting to order some drinks. Sasuke ordered two beers and paid, and when he turned to Naruto he was looking at him with wide blue eyes.

"You hate beer!"

"I know! But he couldn't understand anything else I was saying!" Sasuke shouted so Naruto could hear him over the loud music.

The blond laughed and knocked his beer with Sasuke's, and then drank half of it at once, whereas Sasuke just took a few sips and made a disgusted face.

"Naruto!" Kiba suddenly appeared before them, "Drinking contest!"

The two guys laughed knowingly and started downing their beers. They finished at the same time, and then argued as to which had emptied it first. Kiba's date was trying to say something, but none of them could understand. Sasuke guessed she was trying to inform them that they didn't need to argue since it was a tie anyway. He chuckled to himself; some things never changed…

An hour later, pretty much everyone was drunk. Yoshikazu and Ino were quite a sight; dancing together passionately, kissing and smiling, with Yoshi's fingers gripping her long blonde hair and her own delicate hands all over his muscular body.

Kiba and Suigetsu were also dancing quite intensely with the two young Korean girls, and not too far Hiroshi had also found a dance partner in a young man with a pink shirt and tight white pants; in other words he couldn't possibly look gayer. As for the hot-headed Kimiko, she was in the arms of a tall and pretty Korean boy who looked like he came right out of a pop boy's band – he might as well have.

Sasuke was himself dancing with his boyfriend as he made all of these quick observations. Not all of them were drunk _and_ happy though; Karin and Takumi were still standing at the bar beside each other, downing shot after shot.

Suddenly the rest of the world disappeared as Naruto kissed him, and Sasuke kissed back willingly. Their tongues battling and their hips dangerously close, Sasuke entangled his long pale fingers into Naruto's blond and orange hair and pulled him even closer to deepen the kiss. Naruto moaned through the kiss, or was it Sasuke himself? Probably both of them…

"Sasuke!" Kimiko chose this moment to interrupt them. Very bad timing Kimi…

"What?" he snapped.

"Do you want one," she smiled mischievously; apparently she was too drunk to realize he was being rude with her, or maybe she was just used to it and didn't care.

He supposed she had already given some E to Mister pretty boy who was clinging to her like his life depended on it, a dumb smile plastered on his lips. She herself seemed to be having some effects already.

Sasuke felt like if he took some this time he could control himself, and anyway he was with Naruto. He actually felt like if they both took some ecstasy, they would have an amazing night together.

"Let's do it!" the blond said as if reading his mind, and Sasuke's dark eyes widened as he glanced at him in shock. "What the hell!" Naruto continued, laughing, "I wanna try it. Just this once."

Kimiko smiled happily and gave them the drug. Naruto swallowed it with some beer, and then he passed the bottle to Sasuke so that he could do the same.

Kimiko and her new man whore had already started dancing again.

"Don't ever tell my father!" Naruto exclaimed, laughing.

"I promise I won't!" Sasuke replied.

"I think I just said yes because I'm drunk."

Sasuke laughed, "Probably. Oh God now I'm a bad influence for you."

"You're my bad boy," Naruto said, grinding him at the same time.

"Ahh… Naruto I love you."

"Please don't repeat it all night!" the blond laughed, "You always do that when you're drunk! I love you Naruto, I love you Naruto, I love you Naruto!" he teased, "You know, eventually, I kinda get the idea!"

"I love you Naruto," Sasuke repeated just to annoy him.

"What! I can't hear ya! The music's too loud… Hmm…"

Sasuke shut him up with a passionate, bruising kiss and Naruto moaned and grinded his hips against his crotch, turning him on so much.

For the rest of the night they danced, and just kept on dancing. They couldn't stop, they had infinite energy it seemed, and they didn't care about the rest of the world. It was just the two of them, nothing else mattered. All Sasuke could hear was the loud dance music and Naruto's moans, Naruto's voice whispering in his ear. All he could see was Naruto's beautiful tan skin, his eyes, his lips…

Next thing he knew they were in their hotel room, in their bed, and Naruto was fucking him hard. And he was enjoying it.

"Ahh… yeah… Naruto…"

His pale hands were on Naruto's hips firmly, and he was arching his back, pure pleasure jolting through his body with every one of the blond's thrusts.

"Faster… Naruto… Yeah just like that… Oh God…"

"Keep talking baby, I love it," Naruto urged him.

A few moments later they locked eyes and reached climax together. This was way too intense, and Sasuke didn't even feel tired.

They continued making out, rolling around in the bed, and Sasuke barely noticed that there were other people having sex on the other bed too. But he simply didn't care. Naruto was laughing as Sasuke kissed his neck, and suddenly he felt the urge to laugh, too.

"I just remembered you're ticklish," the blond suddenly told him as he ran his fingers along his sides teasingly.

Sasuke tried to escape from him but Naruto held him close, "Ah… Naruto… stop it!" he exclaimed but he was laughing.

He suddenly grabbed Naruto's wrists and put them above his head, pinning him to the bed.

"What are you gonna do now?" Naruto asked teasingly.

"Whatever you want me to do," he whispered before attacking Naruto's lips. They were both hard again…

- Chidori -

Naruto frowned and opened his clouded blue eyes very slowly. His arms were around Sasuke, so he slowly moved away as to not wake him up. Sitting, he winced painfully; he was sore. Right, they'd had sex… Several times, actually, but he couldn't be sure; everything was so blurry.

His jaw hurt, as if he had clenched it all night. And he was so fucking thirsty. He'd never desired water so much in his life.

He half-stumbled to the bathroom, picking up his boxers on the way, and drank glass after glass of water. But after that, exhaustion hit him, and he leaned back on the wall and let his body slide down to the floor. His entire body hurt. This was horrible…

He had just woken up, but he felt like he hadn't slept in days! He was so never touching drugs again…

Sasuke was still sleeping, and Kimiko was also sleeping in the arms of the guy she'd spent the night with. Naruto suddenly worried about Takumi. He didn't have his phone number, but he knew Sasuke did, so he went to find his boyfriend's cell. The room was such a wreck; Naruto really didn't envy the cleaning staff of this hotel.

He decided to send Takumi a text. He didn't want to bother him with a phone call if he was sleeping and hangover – which he most likely was.

"Hey man since you're not with us in the room I was a little worried so tell me if you're okay"

It would have to do. He pressed send, and fell back on the bed beside Sasuke, hoping to receive an answer soon.

- Chidori -

"_You fake God damnation, you pray for salvation, cause your heart is made of stone, you can die and rot alone_"

Suigetsu growled as he heard the sound of his cell phone ringing. As he opened his eyes to look for it, he realized he wasn't at the hotel. He was in a small bedroom, with pink walls and a girl sleeping in the bed beside him.

"Shit," he muttered as he started getting dressed in a record time, finally answering his cell phone.

"Hello?"

"Hey," Karin's voice said, "I'm sorry did I wake you up?"

"It's okay," the silver-haired replied as he made his way outside, thankfully without running into any inhabitants of the house, "What's up?"

"Well I wanted to talk to you… Maybe have breakfast together, what do you think?"

"That sounds… good, Karin," he said as he glanced around him in the streets; he had absolutely no idea where he was.

"Are you okay? Where did you sleep?" Karin asked.

"That's a very good question"

Glancing back at the house his eyes widened and he got a little scared as the girl he had slept with started running after him in just her tiny pink pyjamas.

"I'll call you back, Karin!" he hung up.

"Suigetsu! Suigetsu!" the girl kept screaming as she ran after him. Well she was screaming other things too, but he couldn't understand.

He entered a bus randomly, without even knowing where it was going; he just wanted to escape from his fan girl.

"Why in the hell did I go to her place last night?" he muttered to himself.

The driver was looking at him funny. Oh, right, he had to pay.

Fifteen minutes later he got off the bus because luckily he started recognizing his surroundings; he wasn't too far from the hotel. He called Karin as he walked.

"Where are you? I was worried!"

"Aww"

"Where are you?" she repeated.

"I just got off the bus I'm on my way to the hotel right now!"

"Can you come join me at the restaurant?"

"The hotel restaurant?" he asked as he walked up to the door.

"Yes," she answered.

"No problem, actually, I can see you right now!"

He hung up as he walked in the restaurant and went to sit in front of her at a little table in the back. There was a buffet, but she didn't have any food in front of her, only a cup of tea.

"You look like shit," she chuckled.

His long silver hair was probably insanely messy, and he was wearing the same outfit as last night, but he had put it back on so fast before leaving that girl's place that he wouldn't be surprised if the shirt was on the wrong side or something.

"You too," he smiled.

This was their comfort zone; they were always throwing insults at each other. Since they'd first met in elementary school, not a conversation had gone by without a good fight.

"Shut up," she replied, but she wasn't angry.

She had evidently just taken a shower, because her long red hair was still wet, and she had just put it up in a ponytail. She was wearing her black glasses, and grey sweat pants with the large black Chidori t-shirt that she always wore when she just wanted to be comfortable.

"So what did you want to tell me?"

"Should we get some breakfast?" she asked at the same time and laughed nervously.

"I don't think I should eat right now," Suigetsu replied, "My body might realize that I'm supposed to be hangover."

"Yeah, I think it's too late for that for me…" she sighed.

"You're hangover?" Suigetsu's violet eyes widened as he looked at her, "You were drunk last night and I missed it?"

"You were too busy with that Korean fan girl," she snapped.

"Oh, so you're gonna do the jealous girlfriend act again?" he exclaimed angrily.

"No," she said, trying to speak more calmly, "Suigetsu, I understand that you want to have fun, with as much girls… and boys, I guess, as possible."

"Well good"

"And it's okay because you're single…"

"Thanks for reminding me," he cut her.

"Will you let me finish!" she sighed, annoyed, as she brought a hand to her hair and undid her ponytail, letting her long hair fall freely on her shoulders.

"Your hair looks nice like that," Suigetsu said, "you shouldn't do them with the flat iron all the time."

"That's so weird," she smiled, "you complimenting me."

"Well…" he shrugged, amused.

"But I could get used to it," she added quickly. "Suigetsu, what I was trying to tell you earlier is that… I understand what you're doing because you're single, but what if you were in a relationship?"

"I'm not looking for a relationship right now," he replied.

"I've been thinking a lot about us recently…"

"There's no us, Karin…"

"There could be…" she locked her dark eyes with his, hopeful.

Weeks ago, he'd dreamed to hear her pronounce those words. But now… he wasn't so sure.

He leaned back in his chair – he hadn't even realized he'd leaned closer to her – and sighed, "Kiba breaks up with you, so now you decide you want to be with me. What a fun coincidence, huh?"

"It's really not like that," she frowned, "I told you I've been thinking, and I just… I want to give it a shot. There's this kind of fucked up attraction between us, and you know it… And I regret how I treated you when I was with Kiba…"

"Didn't stop you from doing it!" Suigetsu exclaimed angrily. "I can't believe you! If Kiba hadn't cheated on you, and if you'd still be together, would you even consider being with me?"

"Of course!" she replied, her voice shaking a little, "I've been considering it everyday! Suigetsu I… I think about you all the time!"

"Bullshit," he snorted.

"Suigetsu, look me in the eye," she whispered, "and tell me that you don't love me."

"I don't love you"

Her fine eyebrows frowning, her dark eyes widening; everything on her face expressed that she was hurt. Without a word, she got up, nodded slightly, took a deep breath and walked away.

He didn't know why he'd done it. Of course he loved her. But it had just been that easy. Four simple words, even though they weren't true, and he'd pronounced them. To hurt her, for revenge for all those times she'd hurt him, maybe. It was stupid and childish really, and at the very moment the words had come out, he was already regretting them.

- Chidori -

"I'm leaving, Naruto"

Karin was crying. Despite everything Naruto was trying to tell her to comfort her, she was still crying and insisting that she wanted to leave. He'd been wandering outside the hotel aimlessly – the three others were still sleeping in his room – and he'd found Karin sitting in their rented truck in the parking, crying alone. So he'd joined her to ask what was wrong.

"I'm leaving," she repeated. "They all hate me… Kiba hates me, and it's always awkward now… Suigetsu hates me," she breathed and sobs racked her body again.

Naruto put his arm around her shoulders and she let her head fall on his shoulder.

"I don't hate you," he said, "Sasuke doesn't hate you."

"I know… but you guys don't need me. Kabuto's a great agent; you'll be just fine without me…"

"That's not true!" Naruto protested, "We do need you. You've made this all happen, Karin!"

"I just made it happen faster. That's it," she chuckled and sniffed, "But my decision is taken. I just can't do this anymore. All this partying, this craziness… I feel like I'm out of place."

"I know what you mean," Naruto said sadly, "but hey you signed the contract too, right? You have to stay with us 'til the end of the two years."

"No," she shook her head slightly, pulling away from Naruto, "We can break the contract if we want. I guess I shouldn't be surprised that you haven't read it carefully," she chuckled. "For you guys it's harder, because you need to wait 'til they find a good replacement, in your case, they'd have to find a guitarist. But in my case, well there's already Kabuto. I'll talk to him, figure something out… We'll split my part of the profits amongst all the others…" she was talking more to herself now. "Besides, Ino helps too. She reads and answers emails, she takes care of the website, and posts pictures and stuff… She even makes important phone calls sometimes. No, really, you guys will be just fine without me."

She sighed shakily and jumped out of the truck, walking slowly back towards the hotel. Naruto followed her, feeling sad and worn out.

"I'll miss you," he said as he walked beside her.

"Me too," she smiled, "I think I'll miss you most. The others, all this fame and success is already getting to their heads. They're all becoming pricks, even Sasuke, I can see it. But not you… I know you'll stay true to yourself."

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Naruto asked, sighing, and as they reached the door he opened it for her.

"Thanks. Yeah I'm sure. But we'll keep in touch, okay? And later, if you ever need an agent, just give me a call," she smiled.

Naruto smiled back, "Sure thing. So you'll keep doing that job?"

"Yeah I think so. I love doing this. I guess I just need to work with people I'm less likely to fall in love with," she added half-teasing.

"Hmm," Naruto said thoughtfully, "you're not leaving like, right now, though right?"

"Well… I'm gonna take the first flight back to Tokyo. But don't worry I'll come by your room to say bye to you and Sasuke at least."

As they reached their floor they parted and walked towards their respective rooms. Naruto checked his cell; it was 3 pm. He figured the others should be awake by now…

It turned out Sasuke was _still_ sleeping. But Naruto was confused when he saw Takumi sitting alone on the other bed, with his clothes all ripped and torn, and an almost empty bottle of liquor in his hands. And… was that blood on his hands?

"Takumi?" he asked hesitantly.

He didn't seem to hear him. The only sound that could be heard was the shower running. Probably Kimiko… But then Naruto also heard a deep, low voice; that was definitely not Kimiko's voice. There were two people in the shower, probably the very same two that had slept in this room the night before, Naruto realized, horrified.

"Does she know you're here?" he asked.

"No," Takumi whispered, "I came back and they were already in the shower," he turned to face Naruto.

His blue eyes widened and he gasped at the sight; Takumi's face was all bruised up with some dried blood too, and from what he could see under the ripped clothes his body didn't look any better.

"I got into a fight," he laughed drunkenly and drank the last gulp of alcohol that was left in his bottle. "Fuck…" he muttered when he saw that it was empty.

"Where have you been all night?" Naruto exclaimed as he took the bottle away from him.

"Just… walking, I guess, I dunno…"

"Look at me," Naruto sat beside him and waited until Takumi's drunken hazel eyes looked up at him, "I know you're fucked up and probably not gonna remember this, but you need to break up with her."

As if to illustrate his words perfectly, they heard the two in the shower again. They were laughing and having a pretty great time, apparently.

Takumi glanced away and blinked, and tears started falling from his eyes.

Naruto sighed, "You need to break up with her. And then you need to take some space from her, to move on… You can't go on like this man! Look at you, I mean…"

"It's not that simple… It's not that easy…"

"I never said it was simple or easy!" Naruto exclaimed, "But at least you have to try!"

"Naruto?" Sasuke whispered as he woke up.

"I'm right here," Naruto said.

Why did he have to take care of everyone?

And at the same time, Kimiko and her Korean pretty boy came out of the bathroom with big smiles and only white towels wrapped around their bodies. Their smiles dropped, though, when they saw Naruto and Takumi.

"You should get dressed and leave," Kimiko told the guy before she hurriedly went to sit on Takumi's other side. "What happened to you?" she asked, worried.

On the meantime Sasuke got up, wrapping the sheet around his body, and went to the bathroom. As for pretty boy, he did as he was told and left the room quickly.

"Baby, talk to me," Kimiko was saying desperately.

"I'm sorry," he choked out.

"Why?" she asked, searching his eyes.

"For not being enough…"

"Baby you're drunk. And hurt, God dammit what happened to you?" she asked again.

"He told me he got into a fight," Naruto informed.

When Sasuke got out of the bathroom, Kimiko grabbed her boyfriend's arm and dragged him in there.

"Don't worry I'll take care of you," she whispered to him but Naruto heard it anyway, and then she closed the door and turned on the water again.

"So… drama again, huh?" Sasuke said as he fell back on his bed, the sheet still covering his skinny pale body.

"That's a… major understatement actually, Sasuke," Naruto sighed, massaging his painful head with his hand.

"What's going on?" Sasuke frowned as he looked at him.

"Karin's leaving," he said bluntly.

"What?" the raven got up, his onyx eyes widening. "She can't be leaving…"

"Yes she can," Karin's voice said.

They both turned around as she opened the door. She was wearing more professional clothes now, and she had her suitcase and few bags all ready.

"You serious?" Sasuke asked her.

"I'm sorry this is so sudden," she sighed shakily, "but I need to do it now. I can't really explain… I'm gonna miss you both so much," she smiled sadly.

She dropped her things and came to hug Naruto tightly.

"I'm gonna miss you too Karin," he told her sincerely as they pulled away.

She smiled and looked at Sasuke, "I know you're not a hugger, but…"

She wrapped her arms around him briefly and kissed his cheek.

"You guys take care of each other, all right?"

"Count on it," Naruto smiled. "What about Suigetsu and Kiba, did you…?"

"Let's just say I already said goodbye to them."

She walked out of the room and picked up her bags, and then she glanced back at them one last time, "Again, I'm sorry that this is so sudden, but, as I told Naruto before, you guys will be just fine without me. I've already arranged things with Kabuto. He'll explain everything to you. I know he doesn't look like much, but he can really get the job done. Anyway, I gotta go… you know flight to catch… I'll really miss you guys," she whispered the last part and then she closed the door and they heard her walk away.

"Fuck, I guess she was serious," Sasuke whispered after a moment.

"Told you…"

"What about him?" the raven pointed his hand towards the bathroom, "He looks pretty beat up."

"Yeah…" Naruto shook his head, frustrated, "I just can't understand that girl…"

"What are you talking about?"

"Never mind. We'll just ask him what happened when he's sober…"

"All right…"

Naruto joined Sasuke in the bed, and he put an arm around him to pull him closer, "How are you feeling?"

"I'm okay, you?"

"Terrible," Naruto chuckled.

Sasuke leaned closer and kissed him softly. His breath was fresh because of the toothpaste, and his lips were so soft. When he tried to pull away, it was Naruto who leaned closer to continue the kiss a little longer.

"Do you feel better now?" Sasuke whispered as he opened his eyes.

"A little," the blond smiled.

There was a loud knock, and then Kabuto's head appeared in the doorframe.

"Uh, sorry, I didn't want to interrupt anything. It's almost 4 pm for Christ's sake! Damn rock stars... Anyway, I just wanted to remind you that we're taking the 9 am flight for Shanghai tomorrow morning. Now that Karin decided to quit, a few things are going to change, and I'll be your only agent of course. But I'll explain more about that tomorrow morning at the airport, when everyone's together. I suggest that you go to bed early this evening. So, can you tell all this to Kimi-chan and Takumi please?"

"Okay, thanks Kabuto," Naruto said politely.

"No problem," he said and then he closed the door.

"I can't believe Karin's gone… Now we're stuck with this guy," Sasuke muttered.

"Yeah… he's not so bad I guess, but it still sucks that she's gone," Naruto agreed.

- Chidori -

Sasuke was sleeping in the plane. Usually it was always the other way around; Naruto was always sleeping, in planes, cars, everywhere, and Sasuke always had way too much trouble falling asleep. So Naruto was a little bit bored, plus Sasuke's IPod was dead.

Yoshikazu seemed to be playing some game on his cell phone, and Ino was sleeping on his shoulder peacefully. Hiroshi and Suigetsu were sitting together, but they weren't making out or anything – far from it. The silver-haired guy was looking out the window, a dark and gloomy expression on his face. Hiroshi had tried to cheer him up, but nothing was working. Suigetsu was like this since he'd learned that Karin was gone.

As for Kiba, he seemed to be taking it well so far. Of course he was sad – mostly that she'd left without saying goodbye to him – but currently he was talking with Kabuto, who was sitting beside him. He didn't seem too depressed, but Naruto thought that was great, because he didn't want half of the band to be in such a dark mood. Sure, Karin was gone, but they were still on tour.

Kabuto had explained that Karin's part would be split amongst the members of Chidori, just like she had told them before leaving. Nothing was changed, really, except that now Kabuto would look after them more and would take care of all their appointments. The ones suffering most from this were the members of the Black Souls, because Kabuto would have less time to take care of their career now.

Takumi and Kimiko were cuddled up together and sleeping soundly. The raven-haired guy looked better now; his injuries were cleaned and disinfected, and nothing was broken at least. Naruto hadn't gotten the chance to talk to him again. But even if Kimiko was all over him now, he knew she would be cheating again. And Takumi knew it too. And Naruto really wanted to help him. He hated seeing people suffer like that for nothing; it was just way too frustrating. But for now, he figured there was nothing he could do about it.

So he just sighed and reached a hand to brush Sasuke's soft raven bangs behind his ear. Karin's words still lingered in his mind like a dark cloud; _the others, all this fame and success is already getting to their heads. They're all becoming pricks, even Sasuke, I can see it._

Sasuke suddenly opened sleepy dark eyes and smiled. He leaned in Naruto's touch, and then he pulled him closer to kiss him softly.

Naruto buried his face in the crook of Sasuke's neck and closed his eyes, suddenly feeling very tired too. Maybe he was biased, blinded by his love, or whatever, but Naruto didn't want to believe that Sasuke was becoming a prick.

They were together, and as long as they had each other, everything would be fine. At least, Naruto wanted to believe that. But as he drifted into sleep, a certain uneasiness lingered in his heart…

TBC

Songs:

In my arms, by Dead by April

Broken, by Seether and Amy Lee


	11. Downfall

Chidori

Chapter 11 – Downfall

2 months later

"Home sweet home!" Naruto exclaimed as he dropped his luggage in the living room of his and Sasuke's apartment.

Ino followed him, her hand still in Yoshikazu's, and sighed, "We just pick up my stuff, and then we're out of here!"

Sasuke went directly to the bedroom while Naruto was helping his friends move out Ino's things – mostly clothes.

"He's probably just tired," Ino shrugged.

"Yeah…"

Naruto faked a smile as they finished gathering her stuff. Things weren't going too well with his boyfriend, but he hadn't told anyone about it.

"All right, well, I'll see you soon, Naruto," Ino hugged him tightly.

Yoshikazu smiled, "Take care man!" He slapped Naruto's back warmly, and then they were gone.

When Naruto joined Sasuke in their shared bedroom, the latter was already unpacking. But Naruto was exhausted, so he just left his things in his suitcase and threw himself on the bed. They had just gotten back, and already things were getting back to their usual pattern: Naruto's side of the room a mess, and Sasuke's side clean and neat. It was good to be back though, and Naruto just relaxed and glanced around at the familiar blue painted walls and various rock and metal bands posters.

"I'm gonna take a shower," Sasuke muttered and went to lock himself in the bathroom.

"I guess I'm not invited," Naruto whispered to himself.

They'd had many fights during the last days of the tour. Naruto had been so sick and tired of all the partying; the alcohol, the drugs, the fan girls (and boys…)

Sasuke'd rather party than try to sit and write some music. They'd have to go back to the studio soon to start recording their second album, and Sasuke still had nothing. It had started with Naruto just being worried, and it had ended up in a fight… Sasuke telling him that maybe _he _should write songs himself if it was that easy.

Naruto hoped from the bottom of his heart that all this had just been a phase Sasuke had gone through during the tour and that now everything would go back to normal…

- Chidori -

But the next day, all of his hopes were shattered at once. They were the last day of September, on a beautiful Friday, and Sasuke had slept all day. So Naruto had gone by himself to take a walk and do some errands. So what if Sasuke later blamed him for buying only ramen? His problem for still sleeping in the middle of the afternoon…

But when he'd returned home Sasuke didn't want to talk about ramen. He was wearing dark skin tight jeans and a blue and grey tank top, his now long raven hair pulled back in a ponytail with only his bangs framing his pale face. His clothes only made him look even skinnier…

"You lost weight again…" Naruto said worriedly.

Sasuke didn't answer; instead he continued applying eyeliner around his big dark eyes.

Naruto cleared his throat, "I bought some food, so I was thinking maybe we should eat dinner together…"

"There's a party tonight," Sasuke interrupted him, "At Orochimaru's place."

"Orochimaru's…? I thought he lived in L.A?"

"He owns a house in Tokyo and he's staying here for a while. So are you coming?" Sasuke glanced at him.

"Am I invited?" Naruto frowned.

"Of course you're invited, the whole band is invited."

"But do _you _want me to come?"

Sasuke's expression softened and he took his hand, "Yes, of course I do."

"I'm sorry," the blond sighed, "it's just… we just got back from this crazy tour and I don't know I thought that…"

"What?"

"That all this partying would stop."

"It might be our last chance to hang out with Kimi and the others," Sasuke insisted.

"You didn't 'hang out' with her enough while on tour?" Naruto asked angrily, "It wasn't enough that you kissed her every show?"

"I didn't kiss her every show, Naruto. _She_ kissed me like, three times. What was I supposed to do, huh? Push her away while on stage?"

Sasuke was perfectly calm, and that was the most frustrating for Naruto. How could he stay so damn calm every time they were fighting?

"Look I'm going. I'll text you the address so if you change your mind…"

Without one more word, and without even glancing back, Sasuke left.

Sure enough, five minutes later, Naruto got a text message indicating Orochimaru's address.

He felt sad and depressed, and lonely too… Sasuke had changed, that was undeniable. Naruto still loved him of course, but sometimes he fantasised about a big confrontation, and his asking Sasuke to choose between his drugs and alcohol or him. The problem was, Naruto didn't even know what would Sasuke's answer be…

As he sat on the large living room couch, which had been once occupied by Ino, he watched television absent-mindedly. Once he had wished he could finally live alone in this apartment with Sasuke. And now… Now he kind of missed Ino. Because now he had no one to talk to.

After a few minutes of just changing the channels because everything was crap, he stopped at a music show where they played one of Chidori's videos.

"Ah screw it," he muttered to himself, turning it off.

He changed into nicer clothes, picking up his phone, keys and money, and left.

Orochimaru's place was twenty minutes from his apartment by car, and as much as Naruto loved driving his car – and had missed it during the tour – he wished Sasuke had waited just a little bit more to hear his answer so that they could go together.

He put on some dance music on the radio, trying to get into the mood for partying – but it didn't work. When he got there and parked in the street, his eyes widened as he checked if he was at the right address. The house was a beautiful two-story mansion with a balcony, a pool and just everything you could dream of. He knew their producer was rich, but to this extent…

"Hey, Naruto!"

He turned around when he heard Kiba's familiar voice. Suigetsu was also there, and the two of them had just gotten out of their car. They walked towards him enthusiastically.

"This place is huge!" Kiba exclaimed.

"Yeah," the blond replied as he started walking beside them, "hey nice hair Kiba!"

"Thanks!" he grinned as he ran his fingers through his recently cut spiky brown hair. "Those damn red highlights reminded me of Karin too much…" he added on a darker tone.

This was a taboo subject for these two, so Naruto did the smart thing and made no comments.

"This is awesome," Suigetsu smiled as they got inside.

Naruto and Kiba were also impressed; young, beautiful people everywhere, with fancy clothes, fancy drinks in their hands… actually everything about this party was fancy. The dance music was bursting in their ears loudly, and as they made their way towards the back they saw that Orochimaru had his own private bar in his house.

And there he was, their producer, with his dark clothes and long black hair, his eyes and facial traits reminding Naruto of a snake and making him shiver just like every time he saw him.

"I think your friends are here, Sasuke," he smiled, amused, when he noticed them.

The guy beside him also turned around, and indeed it was Sasuke. Naruto hadn't recognized him at first; he still wasn't used to his wearing his hair in a ponytail.

"So glad you guys could make it!" Orochimaru's smile widened as he stood up, greeting them, "I think this calls for a round of shots!"

The sexy barmaid smiled and nodded as he told her which alcohol he wanted.

"Thank you!" Suigetsu and Kiba said in unison as they downed their shots.

Sasuke remained silent but also drank the strong liquor.

"Do you want one, Naruto-kun?" Orochimaru asked him.

"No, thank you, I'm good."

Naruto had absolutely no intention of sleeping there, so since he'd be driving later he didn't want to drink or take anything.

Kabuto joined their little reunion soon after, and the next few minutes pretty much consisted of the two men kissing Sasuke's ass. They kept on telling him how talented he was, and how glad they were that the band was successful. More like how glad they were that Sasuke had made them even richer, Naruto thought bitterly.

Kiba and Suigetsu had already joined a group of girls – fan girls obviously – so Naruto was left alone with a very expressionless Sasuke and the two ass kissers. So he was almost glad when Kimiko arrived at the party and threw herself in Sasuke's arms – almost.

"Sasuke! I missed you!" she exclaimed, smiling.

"You saw him yesterday morning," Hiroshi chuckled as he stood a little further.

"Stop spoiling my fun!" she exclaimed, "More importantly, I have to talk to Kabuto-san now!"

"Of course Kimi-chan, I have what you asked me," Kabuto smiled.

"Can I come?" Sasuke suddenly asked.

"Sure!" Kimiko grabbed his hand and the three of them went to walk up the stairs together, probably going somewhere more private.

It wasn't much of a secret anymore that Kimiko and Sasuke got their drugs from Kabuto. When you were on tour, pretty much everyone's secrets came out.

"You okay?" Hiroshi asked him after getting a drink.

"Yeah…" Naruto lied and tried to smile.

"Wow, I think even your retarded so-called best friend would be able to see through that," he pointed towards Kiba, who was still busy seducing some fan girls.

Naruto chuckled dryly, "Well apparently not…"

Orochimaru was gone to take care of his other guests, so Naruto was alone with Hiroshi at the bar.

"Anyway, if you want to make Sasuke jealous, I'm your man." Hiroshi said, half-teasing.

"Thanks but I'll pass," he replied, laughing lightly. "So where are the others?"

Hiroshi put his long black hair behind his ears and crossed his arms, "Well, I think Yoshi wanted to spend some more time alone with his girlfriend."

"That's nice. I'm so happy for Ino," Naruto said sincerely.

Spending some more time alone was also what he'd had in mind for him and Sasuke, but it hadn't turned out that way unfortunately…

"And I'm happy for Yoshi," Hiroshi replied. "I think he hates being single actually, and all the douche bag partier shit was really just to hide the fact that he was lonely."

"Probably," Naruto nodded.

He really felt like drinking, but he couldn't… Now he kind of regretted taking his car. After a moment Hiroshi suggested that they go outside, so Naruto agreed and followed him.

The swimming pool was heated so even though the air was a little fresh outside, there were many people in there. When they noticed Naruto, a bunch of girls squealed and started talking to him.

"You're my favourite guitarist Naruto-kun!" One exclaimed.

"I think you're the cutest guy in Chidori!" Her friend smiled seductively as she moved closer to him, "Do you have a girlfriend?"

Naruto was annoyed. He usually loved talking to his fans, but right now he just wasn't in the mood.

Hiroshi suddenly took his hand, "Actually he's already taken for tonight, sorry girls."

"Oh!" a few of them exclaimed in understanding.

Hiroshi led him away, so that they could walk quietly a little further from the party.

"Thanks," Naruto whispered as he removed his hand.

"Anytime," Hiroshi winked at him and Naruto rolled his eyes.

"Where's Takumi?"

Hiroshi's expression darkened, "Can you keep a secret?"

"Of course, I know we're not like, best friends or anything, but you can tell me," Naruto said sincerely, putting his hands into his hoodie pockets.

"Takumi's leaving. He's leaving Kimi, and he's leaving the band."

"What!" Naruto exclaimed, shocked.

"Yeah… I'm the only one who knows for now. But he won't change his mind. He's really thought this over. He says it's all thanks to you, actually…"

"How could it be thanks to me?" Naruto frowned, confused.

Hiroshi shrugged and smiled sadly, "Because you insisted that he should break up with Kimi. And also you once told him that he deserved to be loved. I told him that thousands of times, believe me… But he wouldn't listen. But you must have a gift or something, Naruto."

"No," Naruto brushed it off, "I don't have any gifts… It was just frustrating, his situation, you know? But like, I didn't think he'd go as far as quit the band."

"Yeah…" Hiroshi sighed, "I think he needs a break, though."

"Maybe…" Naruto glanced away, "I understand how he feels now…"

"Sasuke's not like Kimi," Hiroshi replied. "She chose this as a lifestyle. Sasuke's just… he's probably just confused and trying things… And also she says she loves Takumi, but I don't believe that. I think when you love someone; you only want to be with them, not with others."

"Exactly!" Naruto exclaimed, and then glanced at Hiroshi, "What about you, have you ever been in love?"

"That is a long story…" the raven chuckled darkly and glanced away.

"And I feel like it doesn't have a good ending," Naruto said sadly.

Hiroshi sat on the sidewalk, and Naruto sat beside him quietly, waiting for him to talk if he felt like it.

"We were both so young but… he was the love of my life. I just knew it, and he felt the same… We were together four years."

"That's a long time," Naruto said, impressed, "What… what happened?"

"He had leukemia…"

"Oh," Naruto frowned sadly, "I'm sorry man I… had no idea."

"It's okay; it was a while ago…" Hiroshi looked at him and shrugged slightly, but Naruto could tell it saddened him just to talk about it.

"I understand…" Naruto hesitated, "I mean I understand that you don't want to fall in love again after that. Must have been pretty rough…"

"I don't know about falling in love… I mean I can have a crush on a guy, but you can't call it love. I used to have a crush on you when I first met you this summer," he laughed quietly, "I kind of had a crush on Suigetsu… There were other guys before too. And I had a crush on Takumi, too at first," he laughed again and glanced at Naruto, "But I guess that's how it works. You have a crush first and then it can become love."

"Yeah that's what happened with Sasuke. I mean I met him in a club, so… and we started dating right after. You can't call that love. But now, I just…" he sighed shakily, "I just love him so much."

"Yeah…"

"But Takumi, really?" Naruto suddenly asked, breaking the awkward silence.

The raven made a little smile, "Well, I met him right after my… boyfriend died. And Takumi had issues… he still does I guess, but it was worst back then. He tried to kill himself, and his foster parents kicked him out…"

"Shit…" Naruto's eyes widened as he listened to Hiroshi's story.

"Yeah… He was just 14 at the time, but he'd been through a lot and he was so mature… he was already writing poems and songs. We started making music… it was great I mean at least we had each other. But he reminded me of him. And I felt protective and… yeah I couldn't help liking him."

"I understand," Naruto nodded slightly.

"But Takumi's straight. I mean he's really open minded and all but… he likes girls. But girls like though guys," he chuckled. "You can imagine he didn't have much luck with girls."

"So Kimi is his first love?"

"Yup"

"Well I guess that explains a lot," Naruto sighed, glancing back at the mansion where Sasuke was doing who knew what in there…

"Come on," Hiroshi suddenly grabbed his arm and pulled him up, "now that you've listened to my emo whiny stuff – thank you by the way – shall we go back to the party and make that boyfriend of yours jealous?"

"I don't think so…" Naruto made a little sad smile, shaking his head.

"Oh come on!" Hiroshi started walking back to the house and Naruto followed him slowly.

"No…"

"Naruto I've wanted to do this for a while now. Sasuke's been dancing with Kimi and you know it! He's been dancing with a bunch of people! He's been kissing other people!"

"He was… drugged, he never remembers, really…"

"You're gonna start giving him excuses now?" Hiroshi asked angrily. "Fuck, Naruto you're probably like, the nicest and greatest guy in the whole god damn world, you deserve better than some self-proclaimed misunderstood pretty boy who's taking you for granted!"

"Self-proclaimed misunderstood pretty boy," Naruto chuckled, "I like it."

"Yeah?" Hiroshi took a deep breath, "So let's go back in there, have a couple drinks, and, you know…"

They had almost reached the door when Naruto stopped and locked blue eyes with dark brown ones.

"I really don't think it's a good idea. Besides, I can't drink, I'm driving back home after the party…"

"We'll sleep in your car or something," Hiroshi shrugged, "We'll figure it out. Come on! Don't you want to show him what he's been doing to you all this time?"

It was a really tempting idea. He kind of regretted it already, but…

"All right, let's do this."

After a couple of shooters, Sasuke still hadn't showed up on the first floor, where most of the guests were. Naruto was starting to get worried; where the hell were Kimiko, Sasuke and Kabuto?

But the alcohol was starting to have its effect. He didn't know what shooters Hiroshi had ordered, but they were really strong. He already felt light-headed, and as he looked at the other people dancing, he felt like joining them with Hiroshi.

As if reading his mind, the raven took his hand and led him to the large and open living room and dining room, which had been transformed into a dance floor. They started dancing and Naruto felt really good; it was as if he could feel the music inside him, making his body move on its own.

"You're such a great dancer," Hiroshi told him, "Every time we went out, I always loved watching you dance. I wish I could dance like you."

"Thanks," Naruto smiled.

Hiroshi slowly, almost carefully, reached with his hand to unzip Naruto's dark orange hoodie. He helped him take it off, and Naruto didn't resist. He had a simple black t-shirt underneath, clashing with his pale skinny jeans. He could see the lust in Hiroshi's dark brown eyes as he looked at him. The alcohol probably not helping, Naruto decided to tell him in a rather harsh way that he would not get any tonight…

"All right so here's the deal. We're just dancing. No kissing, no fooling around… just dancing."

"I got it," Hiroshi laughed. "Come here," he put his hands around Naruto's waist and pulled him closer.

It felt weird at first; Naruto was used to dancing with Sasuke. He was the only one he'd danced with for almost a year now, after all. Hiroshi was slightly shorter, and more muscular too, but lean at the same time. His black hair was thicker and longer, his eyes slightly paler, his face more masculine, his jaw more pronounced.

A beautiful and skinny girl went around passing shooters to everyone, and Hiroshi and Naruto took one each. It wasn't long before Naruto forgot about the details that made dancing with another guy than his boyfriend feel so weird. He was just having fun, they were just dancing, and besides Sasuke had done this to him so many times while partying on tour. In the back of his mind he hoped that his boyfriend would see him dancing intensely like that with Hiroshi. Maybe then he'd realize that he actually risked losing him if this went on…

Hiroshi started kissing his neck, and Naruto tilted his head to the side almost unconsciously. But then he opened his eyes – he hadn't even realized he'd closed them – and he saw him. Sasuke was looking at them from the other side of the room. He was with Kimi – she was clinging to him like her life depended on it, actually – and some other guys Naruto didn't know. They were obviously on drugs and they all seemed pretty fucked up already, but Sasuke was frowning slightly as he looked at him.

Naruto's eyes didn't leave Sasuke's for one moment, but he kept on dancing with Hiroshi, as if to dare his boyfriend to do anything about it. He was aware that it was pretty immature, but he just didn't care.

He watched as one of the guys offered Sasuke a joint, but the raven pushed it away. He started walking towards them, and Naruto pushed Hiroshi away softly.

"What the fuck are you doing?" he asked Naruto.

"Nothing," he replied.

"We're just having fun," Hiroshi stepped in.

Sasuke was still frowning slightly, but he didn't even look angry. He was obviously buzzed and fucked up, Naruto didn't know what he'd taken, but it was easy to see he wasn't in his normal state. Naruto was holding his breath, and in a way he kind of wished that Sasuke would be mad, or at least a little angry, anything but this lack of reaction.

"Whatever," Sasuke finally said, walking away to return with his junkie friends.

Naruto's heart sank. Even in his drunken state, now he wasn't in the mood to have fun anymore. He was in the mood for either yelling at Sasuke to try to get a reaction out of him, or crawl to a corner and cry all the tears in his body.

He did neither, and instead he just ran outside to his car.

"Naruto!" Hiroshi was running after him, "Naruto don't drive!"

"It's your fault, you wanted me to drink!" he replied as he tried to unlock his car.

It wasn't working, not only because he was drunk, but also because he was shaking. How could Sasuke change this much in such a short amount of time? He didn't even recognize him anymore…

"I know! I'm sorry," Hiroshi sighed, "Look, please, just don't drive. I'm so sorry…"

Naruto gave up and turned around to lean on his car. He closed his eyes and let his head fall back.

"It's not your fault…"

"I really thought it would work," Hiroshi continued, "I thought he'd try to beat the shit out of me. Of course, fucked up and skinny like he is it wouldn't have worked anyway…"

The blond chuckled darkly, "He wasn't like that before… He used to be so possessive and jealous… And now…"

"I know, I remember. He punched me in the face just because I looked at you!"

"What am I gonna do?" Naruto turned to look at his friend.

"Talk to him," Hiroshi said firmly, "There's no other way. Don't do the same mistake as Takumi. He never told her that he didn't like how she acted. Of course in his case it was obvious, but what I'm trying to say is, tell him that he's gonna lose you if he keeps acting that way."

"What if he doesn't care?" Naruto whispered, tears falling from his eyes.

"Naruto…" the raven sighed, wiping his tears away with his thumb, "If he doesn't care about losing you, then he doesn't deserve you, at all."

He sniffed and pulled away from the other's touch, "I'll just sit in my car and listen to music… don't worry I'm not gonna drive… Go enjoy the party, Hiro, please… I just need to be alone for a little while."

"You promise me you're not gonna drive?"

"Yeah I promise," he made a little smile.

"All right," Hiroshi said hesitantly, "I'll come back in a few minutes to check up on you."

It turned out Hiroshi didn't come back. But it was better that way. Naruto really wanted to be alone. He just sat listening to some metal, thinking… Thinking about Sasuke. About how things used to be. About how things were now. And he cried again, silent tears rolling down his cheeks. That was the thing with getting drunk; if you were in a good mood, it just made you feel even happier, but if you were sad, it made you feel even more fucking depressed…

- Chidori -

When Naruto woke up the first thing he did was open his car door to throw up in the street.

"Ugh," he whispered, coughing.

He hurriedly stopped the music, hoping that his car battery wouldn't be dead. Glancing at the time, he saw that he had slept for three hours.

"Fuck…" he muttered to himself.

He stumbled out of his car, locked the door and made his way to the entrance of the house. He shivered in the cold night's air; right, he'd taken off his hoodie while dancing with Hiroshi earlier… He wondered where Hiroshi was now.

Well he had his answer not too long after; Hiroshi was with a young and pretty boy on a sofa making out passionately. They were both drunk out of their minds, it went without saying.

Naruto continued his search for a bathroom. Some people were passed out on the floor, so he was careful not to step on them. He also walked passed a bunch of people still doing drugs, and he recognized some of them as the ones who were with Sasuke earlier. But to his relief, his boyfriend wasn't with them. Which only brought up another worrying thought; where the hell was Sasuke now?

But his priority was still to find a bathroom. Hell, in a big house like this, you'd think there were bathrooms everywhere. Well no, apparently.

He walked up the stairs, hoping to find a bathroom more easily upstairs. He walked in a long hallway and passed many doors; behind which he heard quite disturbing noises. Behind one of them he heard the sound of someone throwing up, and he figured this was probably the bathroom.

He waited, and waited, but he was getting impatient, and the person was not coming out. So he knocked loudly.

"Just a second," a masculine voice said.

And indeed a few seconds later the door opened to a tall and skinny guy with long blond hair tied up in a ponytail, and watery blue eyes paler than Naruto's. And he was shirtless.

"Hey!" he exclaimed as enthusiastically as he could in his condition, "You're Chidori's guitarist! I'm a big fan."

"Cool," Naruto smiled, "I don't mean to be rude but I gotta use the…"

"Oh, right, sorry! You can go I'm done."

He barely had time to finish his sentence that Naruto had locked himself in the bathroom. Tonight was definitely not a good time to reinforce his kind reputation with fans…

When he was done he was ready to move on to his second priority; finding Sasuke. Except the shirtless blond guy was still in the hallway… It was as if he'd waited for him to come out.

"Hey sorry I was just waiting…"

Oh well…

"I just wanted to introduce myself!" he continued with a drunken smile, "It's not often that I meet awesome fellow guitarists like you! I'm Deidara!" he offered his hand.

Naruto shook it and smiled back, but he was a bit annoyed, "I'm sorry but I gotta go…"

"Really?" he looked disappointed, "Well I'll walk with you a bit at least!"

Oh great… Naruto thought.

"Actually I gotta find my friend first…"

"Oh, okay! Maybe I can help! I'm good at finding people in parties!"

"Hum, okay…"

"No seriously! See, I'm in a band too, and I'm the one who can tolerate alcohol most, even though it might not look like it right now," he chuckled, "and I'm always the one who finds my passed out friends everywhere…"

"I'm looking for Sasuke, actually, he's…"

"I know who he is! I'm a fan of your band remember?" he laughed.

"Do you have any idea where he could be?"

Deidara was thoughtful for a moment, "I think he's in one of these rooms, actually," he waved his hands in the general direction of the hallway behind them, "I saw him get into one with a girl, the singer of that band who was on tour with you guys. They both looked fucked up."

"No shit," Naruto sighed, "Which room?"

"I'm not sure," Deidara replied as he went to open one of the doors.

"SHUT THE DAMN DOOR DEI!" a girl shouted angrily as she threw a pillow at Deidara.

"Sorry Konan!"

He laughed as he closed the door, and he turned to look at Naruto, "Oops, wrong door."

"Who was that?" Naruto raised a brow.

"Hum… my friend Yahiko, he's the singer in my band actually, and his girlfriend Konan, she's a sound tech."

"Let's try another one, I guess," Naruto suggested. "By the way, why aren't you wearing a shirt?"

Deidara tilted his head to the side, confused, "That's a very good question."

Naruto laughed, "Whatever man let's just try to find Sasuke, all right?"

"Yeah cool!"

Naruto didn't know if it was just because he was drunk, but that Deidara guy actually seemed like a lot of fun.

"Oh, here they are," he said as he opened another door.

Naruto went to stand beside him in the doorframe, and he saw Kimiko lying on the bed, looking at the ceiling as if she was watching an action movie going on there, and Sasuke was sitting on the window frame looking outside unfocusedly.

"Thanks man," he told Deidara, "I appreciate."

"No problem!"

He finally walked away; as much fun as he was, Naruto wanted to be alone with Sasuke now.

He walked around the bed, ignoring Kimiko, and walked up to Sasuke.

"Sasuke?"

No answer. The raven was leaning on the doorframe and looking at the pool and the courtyard with blood shot eyes, and he seemed a little dizzy.

"Hey you okay?"

Sasuke turned slowly to look at him, "Hey," his lips twitched into a little smile.

"Let's go home," Naruto took his hand, but then he gasped as he noticed bruises and needle marks inside his arm, "Sasuke, what the fuck?"

The raven removed his arm and tugged down his long sleeves.

"You've been hiding this from me?" Naruto asked, searching his eyes. "Is that why you don't want to take showers together anymore? Why you don't want to sleep in my arms? Because you were hiding this… fuck, I can't believe it…"

"I told you he'd react like this…"

"Stay out of this Kimi," Naruto snapped, and then he glanced back at Sasuke, "Let's just go home okay? We're both tired; we can talk this over tomorrow…"

"Okay," Sasuke whispered as he followed him. "Do you want me to call a cab, or…?

"No I have my car."

As they sat in the car and Naruto started driving, he couldn't help but think that now he knew perfectly well how Takumi felt. He glanced at Sasuke once in a while, and he was looking outside the window, lost in his own world apparently. Sasuke was so cold, and they were so close but so far away; Sasuke just didn't care about him anymore…

TBC

* * *

><p>AN: I'm expecting some of you guys to be unhappy with this... Actually I'm not really sure how you'll react. Some people seem to think this story is rushed, and this chapter definitely didn't help I guess. But this is necessary. The "two months" time lapse was pretty much just a repetition of what happened in the 10 first chapters: shows and partying. Now they are back in Tokyo, in their apartment together. And I guess this chapter is just to show that yes, Sasuke was being a really horrible boyfriend, but Naruto had been hoping that everything would go back to normal with the end of the tour...


	12. Wedding

Chidori

Chapter 12 – Wedding

For a moment Naruto wished he hadn't woken up. He had been dreaming of good memories of him and Sasuke together… And now he was waking up to a much more depressing reality. While he shifted in the bed Sasuke woke up as well. Without a word, they both sat up slowly and looked at each other.

"So… are you gonna tell me the truth or…?" Naruto said hesitantly, glancing at his boyfriend's pale arms bruised with needle marks.

Now that he thought of it, Sasuke had been more distant in their intimacy, as well as wearing long sleeve shirts or arm warmers, for the past few weeks. He should've known he was hiding something. But God had it been this long? Was Sasuke really a drug addict now? How had this happened…? Naruto held his breath as he waited for Sasuke's answer. If only he could at least be honest…

"Naruto… I… I'm sorry."

"You're aware this isn't gonna be enough, right?" he frowned.

"What the fuck do you want me to say?" Sasuke replied, in a perfectly calm voice which pissed Naruto off even more.

"Oh, I don't know! Maybe if you'd just explain me why you need to take drugs so much? Damn it Sasuke, have you looked at yourself in a mirror? You know you won't be pretty forever if you keep on like this. You're getting way too skinny."

"Do you think I care about being pretty?" Sasuke shook his head slightly, "Why are you telling me this? If you're with me just because of my looks, then just say it and hurry up and leave!"

"How can you say this to me?" Naruto whispered, hurt beyond words.

It must have shown in his eyes, because Sasuke's expression softened, and he looked sad and frustrated. Despite everything that was happening, Naruto was glad that, if only for a moment, he could see some emotion in his boyfriend's face.

"It's just… I was so stressed out, Naruto, you have no idea…"

"You could've told me!" The blond replied, "I could've helped, maybe…"

"I didn't want to worry you…"

He took a deep breath and tried to stay calm, and he shifted in the bed, moving closer to Sasuke, "Just tell me, Sasuke, what… what are you so stressed out about?"

"A bunch of things, I guess…" he glanced away, "the shows were a lot of pressure, and it didn't help that I kept seeing Haku…"

"Huh?" Naruto frowned.

"He kept sending me emails… he still does, he keeps threatening me… Naruto, he came to _every_ show. He's always _staring_ at me."

Sasuke actually looked scared as he recounted this, and Naruto shivered. He reached with his hand to cup Sasuke's chin.

"Look at me," he pleaded.

Sasuke's onyx eyes slowly looked up at him, "And Itachi's depression… I'm scared, all the time, that he's gonna do something stupid. And then… there's the fact that I can't… I just can't write anymore. I'm supposed to be a songwriter, Naruto… This is the only thing that I'm good at. And I don't even have that anymore."

Sasuke was trembling, and his pale skin was covered with goose bumps. Naruto sighed and wrapped his arms around him tightly. At first Sasuke tensed a little, but then he hugged back fiercely. Naruto rubbed his hands in circles on his back soothingly.

"You need to talk to me, okay? Whenever there's something wrong, you can tell me. I'm here for you."

He felt wetness on his bare neck and shoulder, and when he pulled away he saw that Sasuke was crying. Naruto leaned closer and wiped off his tears with his hands, and then he moved them to Sasuke's long raven hair. He closed his eyes as their lips met, and they kissed very softly. Naruto felt good and sad at the same time; good because this was their first intimate contact in weeks, and sad because he wished the circumstances were better…

- Chidori -

"Are you ready to go?" Naruto asked, glancing at the closed door in which Sasuke was changing.

"Yeah…"

He opened the door wearing dress black pants and a black button shirt with long sleeves. His hair was tied in a ponytail, and he wasn't wearing any makeup on his face. Naruto thought he looked beautiful even though he was too skinny.

At least he had succeeded in making him eat a little bit, but it wasn't enough of course. And now, on Sunday and the 2nd day of October, it was Hinata and Jugo's wedding in Konoha and they were invited. Actually Sasuke was Jugo's best men. When Naruto had learned this he had been a little shocked; he had no idea they were this close. But Sasuke had explained to him that they had been friends for a long time and that in the beginning he had help Jugo overcome personal issues.

Sasuke cleared his throat. "You look nice," he said.

"Thanks." Naruto smiled, "You too."

This was so stupid; they'd been together for almost one year now! And they were changing in separate rooms and commenting each other's outfits as if going on their first date or something. But at least Sasuke was talking to him now, he was making efforts. Naruto was himself wearing dress black pants and a white shirt with the sleeves rolled up at the elbows, and a loose black tie. He had let his hair dry naturally, but since they were longer now they weren't as spiky or messy as before. He still had some copper red highlights in them, too.

They would stay in Konoha for two days, so Naruto had prepared a couple of their things in a small black suitcase, which he picked up as he walked to the door. Sasuke followed him, and then they made their way to the parking and Naruto's orange car.

While Naruto was driving they were both silent. They were listening to their favourite metal bands and just looking at the road. Sasuke had a small notebook on his knees – it didn't go unnoticed by Naruto that this wasn't the notebook he had offered him for his birthday – and once in a while he stared at the blank sheet of paper, with his pen meandering. But he didn't write anything. And Naruto made no comments.

After a long ride Naruto was glad to arrive to his familiar home town. He had checked the address Hinata had sent him by email – it was the first time he would go to her father's house – and he drove there directly. He didn't have time to stop to his parents' place first, and besides it was no big deal since they would be there for the wedding too. It was a very big celebration apparently.

He parked his car in the street behind an already impressive amount of vehicles, and they got out, Naruto yawning and stretching his body, and Sasuke was…

"Are you okay?" Naruto asked him, worried.

The raven seemed anxious, his breathing a little too fast for someone who had just sat in a car for a few hours, and he was patting his pocket nervously.

"Yeah, let's go," Sasuke brushed it off.

They started walking towards the Hyuga mansion, but they stopped when they heard a familiar voice call after them. Turning around, Naruto smiled when he saw Shikamaru with his girlfriend Temari.

"Naruto! What's up?" the brunet smiled and hugged him briefly.

"It's so good to see you," Naruto said as they pulled away. "And you too, Temari, God you look so beautiful!"

"Thank you Naruto!" she exclaimed as she hugged him too.

Shikamaru was wearing a simple outfit much like Naruto's, except his tie was blue, matching Temari's dress.

"Hi Sasuke!" she turned to smile at the raven.

"Hey," he made a little smile. "We should get going…"

"Ah, yes, you must be excited to see Jugo!" Temari exclaimed as the four of them started walking together.

More like he was 'excited' to go use the bathroom to sniff some of the powder that was in his pocket, Naruto thought darkly.

"Gaara and Lee couldn't make it," the blonde suddenly told Naruto, "since they're students, and in Nagoya, it was too hard…"

"Oh, yeah that's understandable." Naruto nodded slightly, "What about Kankuro?"

"Still touring the world with his little circus." Shikamaru chuckled, "It's pretty amazing actually. We went to see him when he was in Japan."

"Wow," Naruto smiled, "that's great. So how are you guys doing?"

"My parents and Temari convinced me to continue my studies because apparently I'm smart," Shikamaru shrugged, "but I decided to just go at the local university, nothing too big you know."

"Well, what program?" Naruto asked.

"Computer engineering." He answered, "Same as Temari."

"You can't say the field has no openings!" The blonde girl added, smiling, "Besides it's really interesting. We can hack anything now."

They reached the entrance and when they got in, Hinata and her father greeted them. Naruto's blue eyes widened as he looked at his friend; she was stunning. Her long sleeveless white dress was simple, but it only added more charm to it. Her long raven hair was just slightly wavy, with some white flowers in it, and it went all the way down to the middle of her back. With just a little bit of makeup around her pale eyes and blush on her cheeks, she was ravishing.

But in truth it was her smile beaming with happiness that was the most beautiful thing about her at that moment. She hugged Naruto, then Shikamaru and Temari, and even Sasuke.

"I'm so glad you guys are here!"

"Oh, we wouldn't have missed it!" Temari's smile widened as she replaced a strand of Hinata's hair almost tenderly.

Hinata's cousin Neji joined them with his long time girlfriend Ten Ten. Actually, noticing the rings on their fingers Naruto figured they were probably already married, too – they were older after all.

"It's getting a bit warmer outside, so we're probably gonna be able to hold the ceremony in the courtyard after all," he told his cousin with a smile.

"Okay, thank you nii-san," she smiled back.

"Excuse me, we've had a long ride, and I just need to use the bathroom please," Sasuke inquired politely.

Neji nodded and went to show him where it was. Naruto felt helpless and uneasy at the thought of his boyfriend being on drugs for the wedding, but he couldn't do anything about it. So instead he just followed his friends outside. Hinata's father and some other people, who Naruto figured were employees and the rest of the Hyuga family, were setting up the buffet on a large table. There was a little stall on which he supposed the fiancés would stand for the ceremony and an impressive amount of chairs for all the guests. But as he glanced around him, Naruto realized there was indeed an impressive amount of guests.

He smiled when he spotted Minato and Kushina, talking with Mikoto, Itachi and Sakura in the back of the courtyard near some beautiful trees full of red and yellow leaves. They were lucky because it was an exceptionally warm day for the beginning of October. His mother was wearing a beautiful green dress with an ivory scarf around her neck, enhancing her deep red hair even more, and Mikoto and Sakura were both wearing pink dresses, although Sakura's was shorter and in a deeper shade of pink. Her hair had grown longer and she had returned to her natural colour which was baby blonde, but she still had some pink highlights in it.

After the ritual of enthusiastic smiles and hugging everyone, he told the ladies how beautiful they looked, and he was being sincere. He had missed them all so much. Even Sasuke's family, even though he thought it sucked that Fugaku wasn't there. The Uchiha was even more childish than his son, in a way, for not even wanting to show up just because he didn't want to see Sasuke.

Kushina laughed, clearly touched, when she commented on how similar Naruto and Minato's appearances were. And it was true; Naruto looked like a younger version of his father, literally. As for Itachi, with his black outfit and his hair tied in a ponytail, Naruto thought he looked exactly like his younger brother, only slightly taller and more broad-shouldered and muscular.

"So where's my little famous singer?" Mikoto inquired, smiling.

"Oh, he was just inside using the restroom, he'll be here in a minute," Naruto reassured her.

"Great!" Her smile widened, and then she laughed lightly, "I swear, when I tell people he's my son, they just won't shut up about it!"

"Same for us!" Minato said, "Except I don't even need to tell them Naruto's my son!"

"So Sakura-chan, how is it working for a big name company like Uchiha Corp?" Naruto asked her.

Her big green eyes seemed to shine as she answered his question, still clinging to her husband, "It's great! I just, I'm so happy, you know? Fugaku-sama offered me such a great place in the company; I get to do some advertising and promoting, and I've even started working on some important business deals! I'm representing the company, can you imagine! That's why I changed my hair," she explained, "when they were all pink it didn't look serious enough."

"I told you, you look gorgeous with your natural blonde hair, dear," Mikoto smiled fondly as she caressed Sakura's hair.

"Thank you Ka-san," Sakura smiled at her.

"I'm gonna go get a drink," Itachi said in a low voice, removing his arm from Sakura's and walking away towards the buffet.

Naruto watched as the Uchiha picked up a champagne glass from a trail and emptied it in one go. He felt sad as he remembered Sasuke's words; Itachi's depression… scared that he would do something stupid…

"You okay Naruto?" Minato asked him.

He shook his thoughts away and smiled at his father, "Yeah I'm fine."

- Chidori -

Sasuke exhaled slowly as he felt the familiar and reassuring feeling fill him. He sniffed one last time and looked at his face in the mirror to make sure there was no trace of powder. He closed his tiny plastic bag carefully and put it back in his pocket. He let himself relax for a few more seconds, and then, feeling much better, he returned to the party.

He couldn't see Naruto anywhere, or any familiar face at that, so he made his way outside. He spotted Naruto's familiar blond head in the back, at the edge of the little woods, where he was talking with his parents, Mikoto and Sakura. Sasuke was about to walk towards them when he also spotted his brother, sipping some champagne alone near the buffet.

"Hey," he said simply when he was standing right beside Itachi.

His older brother's depressed expression changed and his face broke into a smile, "Otouto, God I missed you so much," he put down his glass and wrapped his arms around him.

Sasuke buried his face in his shoulder as he hugged him back.

"How are you doing?" He asked when they pulled away.

Itachi sighed and glanced towards his wife.

"Fine, I guess."

"Don't lie to me."

"Not so good…" he hesitated, then locked eyes with Sasuke, "You?"

"I'm okay."

"Don't lie to me," Itachi said half-teasing.

"Well… alcoholism, drug addictions, lack of inspiration, Naruto's probably gonna break up with me, Haku's probably gonna pop out of nowhere and kill me, other than that I'm swell…"

He said all this in a calm and cynical tone; that was the effect of the drug. He was able to say these things without breaking into pieces and crying all the tears of his body.

"Damn it Sasuke," Itachi shook his head sadly, not knowing what to say, "You need to get a hold of yourself! I know you're stronger than that."

"Am I?" He chuckled dryly, "I don't know anymore."

"You lost weight," Itachi said worriedly.

Sasuke shrugged slightly, he just didn't care about anything. In his normal vulnerable state, he probably would have cried in his brother's arms and asked for advice, comfort, anything… But he had just taken some narcotics so his emotions were much less intense, thankfully. It was better, really, because he didn't want to worry his brother even more.

"Hey Sasuke, glad you could make it!" A familiar voice exclaimed behind him, and he turned around.

"Jugo," he smiled, "it's good to see you," he said sincerely.

If there was one person that had always been a steady friend, on whom he could always count, it was Jugo. They hugged briefly in a friendly way, and the orange-haired man looked from Itachi to Sasuke with an amused smile.

"You guys look like twin brothers," he chuckled.

"Not my fault Sasuke's copying my look," Itachi replied, amused.

Jugo looked really nice in his black suit, with his hair nicely styled; it made him look older, actually, and almost like a business man. Sasuke knew that Jugo was studying accounting in order to later work with Hinata's father. He was really glad for his friend because he had found a girlfriend, and a family, and a life that made him happy.

Karin, Ino and Yoshikazu suddenly arrived behind Jugo, and the red-headed girl hugged the groom with a fond smile.

"Who would've thought you'd be the first of our little group to get married?" she said as they pulled away.

"You look beautiful Karin," he told her sincerely.

"Save those compliments for your lovely Hinata," she replied, amused.

She was wearing a dark blue dress and silver heels, with half of her long hair pulled up in a high do – probably done by Ino – and she was wearing her contacts and dark, smoky makeup around her eyes. As for Ino she was also very beautiful in a pale blue dress, her long blonde hair loose with a parting on the side. She was holding Yoshikazu's hand – the latter was wearing a pale blue shirt, matching her dress, with black pants. His hair was recently cut and back to its natural black now. Again, it was probably Ino's doing.

Karin introduced Yoshikazu to Jugo and Itachi, and then they made little talk, Ino telling them she had just subscribed to start in a fashion school in January, and Karin telling them about her new client, a talented and promising young actress.

Sasuke just let the others talk; he figured they wouldn't notice anything since even in his normal state he was a pretty quiet and expressionless guy. But his red-headed female friend knew him better than he thought, and once in a while she glanced at him, frowning slightly. She was about to make a move to talk to him in private, Sasuke was certain of it, when Suigetsu and Kiba made their – very unnecessarily loud – arrival.

Of course - and thankfully for Sasuke - this attracted Karin's attention. Both guys had beautiful dates. The girl beside Kiba reminded Sasuke of someone; he was sure he had seen her somewhere before. As for the girl clinging to Suigetsu, he didn't know who she was. She sure was pretty, and even a bit slutty, with long dark hair and a little black dress barely covering her ass. The two guys themselves didn't look too sharp; they were just wearing jeans and t-shirts. How lame… Sasuke thought. But he couldn't care less.

"Hey guys!" Kiba smiled as he walked up to them, "This is Sarah," he turned towards the tall girl by his side, "Sarah, you remember Sasuke and Yoshi, and this is Ino, Karin, Itachi, and last but not least, the groom, Jugo!"

"Hi," the brunette said shyly.

"And this is my new girlfriend Aika," Suigetsu said, looking at Karin with a stupid smirk.

Sasuke knew all too well that girl wasn't Suigetsu's new girlfriend. He wouldn't be surprised if she was a fancy prostitute. Suigetsu was doing this just to piss Karin off. And it was working.

"Oh, how nice," Karin said with a fake smile, looking at the short and curvy girl, "So where did you meet Suigetsu, Aika?"

"At a party," she said in a high-pitched voice, smiling and playing with her long hair.

Sasuke and Itachi, on a mutual and silent decision, left them to deal with their sentimental problems and instead walked towards their mother and Naruto's family. It seemed Sakura had gone to talk to some other people.

"Sasuke!" Mikoto exclaimed, wrapping her arms around him lovingly, but then she pulled away and frowned worriedly, "You're so skinny! Do you eat properly? Naruto," she turned to glance at the blond, "does he eat properly?"

"Ka-san…" he whispered, slightly annoyed.

"Well I think he's just been going through a lot of stress lately," Naruto broke the awkward silence, saving the situation as always, "but don't worry Mikoto-san, the tour's over now."

She smiled, reassured, and then it was Kushina's turn to ask him a question.

"Speaking of which, I didn't even ask you, but how was it, being on tour?"

"It was great!" Naruto smiled enthusiastically, and he started telling all sorts of details and anecdotes about the shows, the music, the fans…

Sasuke knew that deep down Naruto felt sad that he had to lie to his family. Sure they had all loved being on stage and performing for their fans, but Sasuke knew that Naruto had hated his experience on tour. And he couldn't blame him…

- Chidori -

Everyone cheered when Jugo and Hinata kissed, sealing their vows in this embrace in front of all their families and friends. Sasuke was standing right beside Jugo as his best man, with Suigetsu and Neji next to him, and Hinata's little sister, Ino, Sakura and Temari in front of them as the bride's maids.

After that, the evening air becoming a little chilled, they all went inside to continue the celebrations. There was a ballroom space with slow romantic songs playing, and everyone cheered for Jugo and Hinata, encouraging them to do the first dance. The beautiful bride smiled as Jugo took her into his strong arms and led the dance. Sasuke never knew Jugo could dance like that, and he figured he had probably taken a few lessons for this very moment.

After their dance the others joined in; Shikamaru and Temari, Neji and Ten Ten, Ino and Yoshikazu, and even Naruto's parents as well as other adults that had perhaps had a little too much champagne. Sasuke himself had drunk some, as well as Itachi, but the Uchiha could hold their liquor well - especially Sasuke now that he was so used to drinking all the time.

"Would you like to dance, darling?" Sakura asked Itachi.

"You know I don't really like to dance," he replied on an even tone.

"Of course he'd love to dance!" Mikoto stepped in, suddenly holding a camera in her hands.

As Itachi reluctantly followed Sakura and started dancing with her, his mother took some pictures and Sasuke had to resist the urge to roll his eyes. Glancing around, he spotted Karin, who was flirting with a guy clearly older than her, but still young and charming, from the Hyuga family. Once in a while she glanced at Suigetsu, who was standing at the other side of the room with his cute little Aika. They weren't very subtle at trying to make one another jealous. And it was obviously working.

As for Kiba, he truly seemed to be enjoying himself with Sarah. Suddenly Sasuke remembered where he had first seen her; in Nagoya at the after party. Later Naruto had told him that Kiba had cheated on Karin with Sarah, and all that had led them to breaking up. Well, Sasuke thought, it was meant to happen anyway, and if Kiba had met someone who truly interested him in the process, that was cool for him.

He suddenly wondered where Naruto was. The effects of the heroin were starting to drift away, and he longed for his boyfriend's presence. While he looked around the big house looking for him, he suddenly heard his voice behind a closed door, as well as a young girl's voice.

He knocked and waited.

"Oto-san?" the girl asked.

"Err… no… is Naruto there? I thought I heard his voice…"

The door finally opened to a young girl who looked just like Hinata, wearing her karate outfit instead of the dress he had seen her in earlier. Sasuke had first seen her one year ago, at Naruto's karate class. She had grown a lot since then, and Sasuke thought she looked to be around fifteen years old.

"Hey," she said shyly, "I love your music!"

"That's awesome," Sasuke chuckled, and looking behind her he saw Naruto.

He was a little dishevelled with his black tie even looser around his neck and his white button shirt completely out of his pants' waist band. Sasuke thought he looked sexy. They hadn't had sex in a really long time – Sasuke knew he was the one to blame for that – and at that moment he desired him more than anything. He knew it was just because he didn't have any withdrawal symptoms yet, though. They would start in a few hours… as always… He thought darkly.

"I was just looking at her techniques," Naruto smiled. "She's improved so much, I'm proud of her," he added clearly to please the now blushing young girl.

"Thanks Naruto-sensei! But I've improved even more than you think! I can kick Konohamaru's ass any time now!" she exclaimed.

"That's great Hanabi," the blond chuckled. "Well I'll go spend some time with Sasuke now. You should get back into your dress and go spend some time with your sister and the others."

"Okay," she smiled as they left her alone in her bedroom.

"So…" Naruto hesitated, "You talked with your brother?"

"Yeah," Sasuke answered.

"How is he?"

"Not so good," Sasuke replied simply.

"That sucks," Naruto said sadly.

Without really noticing they went outside to continue walking. The sky was getting darker and the wind cooler, and Sasuke shivered and put his hands in his pockets. He closed his fist on the little bag of powder.

But then Naruto did something he hadn't done in a while; he slid his arm around his waist and pulled him closer.

"You're freezing," he whispered.

At first Sasuke tensed, but then he let himself relax against the familiar, comforting touch of his boyfriend. His fist unclenched and he removed his hand from his pocket to put his arm around Naruto instead. He leaned against him as they walked, seeking his warmth. Naruto was just never cold, even in the freezing winter, most of the time he was just wearing a hoodie or a jacket, and he was fine. But Sasuke was always cold, and since he was very skinny now it was even worst.

Reaching the little forest behind the Hyuga mansion they sat in the dry leaves and leaned against a large tree. Naruto wrapped his arms around him, and Sasuke willingly pressed himself closer to his boyfriend.

"This is nice," the blond whispered, kissing his forehead softly.

"Yeah," Sasuke breathed.

"You still want to go to my parents' place tonight?"

"Do I really have a choice?" Sasuke chuckled darkly, "It's not like I'm gonna go see my father…"

"He should've come here, at least to accompany your mother."

"He probably told her some bullshit about being too busy with the company…"

"Probably," Naruto sighed, "Hey I never even asked but… what does Uchiha Corp do exactly?"

"Pharmacology mostly, and recently they're in cosmetics as well, I think."

"Oh… well I can see how Sakura can be a good representative for that branch," Naruto chuckled. "What d'you think Itachi would like to do, I mean, instead of becoming CEO?" he asked on a more serious tone.

"I don't know. I don't think he knows it himself."

"It's hard knowing what you want to do," he whispered thoughtfully, "I mean music is my life, but if I didn't have that, I dunno I'd probably be studying in politics or something, to do the same thing as my father I guess… What about you?"

"Probably selling drugs," he said half-teasing.

"It's not funny Sasuke!"

"Sorry…"

"I'm serious, I want you to stop taking that shit," he tried to reach for Sasuke's pocket but the latter pulled away quickly.

"Please don't…" he whispered. "You know I'll be a wreck if I stop. And I don't want that. It keeps me relaxed."

"Numbing yourself with drugs is not the solution Sasuke," Naruto sighed. "If your emotions are too intense, or something, you can go see a therapist. We have plenty enough money for that."

"I don't want to," Sasuke said, then cursed himself for sounding so childish.

"Look, I did my research, all right? Ecstasy's okay. I mean it's not so bad. Weed, I really don't care, least of my problems. For an anti-drug person, you can't say I'm not making any efforts!" he exclaimed angrily. "But heroin? Sasuke, that shit is dangerous! What if you overdose?"

"Then I guess it'll solve all your problems," Sasuke muttered, standing, and started walking away.

He hated being taken for an idiot. As if he didn't know the side effects of the very drug he was currently taking. He knew all that; Naruto was scolding him like he was a stupid kid with no idea whatsoever of what he was doing.

Suddenly he was pushed to the ground, and before he realized what was going on Naruto was pinning him down with his fist raised, ready to punch him in the face.

"I swear, you deserve it right now," he choked out. "How can you talk to me like that? Huh? How dare you?"

"Just do it, just hit me," Sasuke whispered, looking into deep, watery blue eyes, wishing he could just drown in them and disappear.

Naruto, trembling and crying, his tears falling on Sasuke's pale face, slowly dropped his hand and loosened his grip on him.

"Who are you? And where is the guy I love?" he whispered. "I feel like he's gone…"

Sasuke's heart clenched painfully and he rolled his head to the side, glancing away, at anything but Naruto's pained and beautiful face.

The blond sighed shakily and got up, wiping his cheeks with his hands in frustration.

"Let's go," he said in a rasp voice, "my parents are probably already home by now…"

He walked away, and Sasuke got up slowly and followed him, not knowing what to say.

* * *

><p>AN: Do tell me if I update too fast lol. But seriously, I want to thank everyone who reviews, I don't know if fanfictionnet has a problem lately, but I just can't reply to any reviews. So just a big thank you to all of you guys.


	13. Family reunion

Chidori

Chapter 13 – Family reunion

"Did you sleep well?" Kushina asked Naruto as he walked up the stairs and joined her in the kitchen.

"Yes! Hmm that smells so good Ka-san…"

"Just making pancakes, I figured I could make a little special breakfast for you," she smiled. "Your father's already gone for work. He tried to free himself to spend more time with you, but he couldn't," she added sadly.

"It's okay," Naruto shrugged, "I understand. It's Monday after all."

"Yes, he's working very hard right now," she said. "What about you? Are you recording a new album with your band?"

"Soon, yeah," he answered.

She turned to look at him, frowning slightly; she seemed thoughtful.

"What?" he asked, chuckling.

"There's something wrong."

It wasn't a question, but a statement, but Naruto answered in the negative anyway.

"No I'm fine!"

She gave him her I'm-your-mom-so-I-know glare, "It's okay, you don't have to tell me now if you don't want to. But I want you to know that I'm here if you need to talk, all right?"

"Thanks Ka-san," he laughed. "But I'm fine, really."

"Stop trying to fool me," she frowned, and Naruto was getting a little scared so he didn't deny it this time. "Sasuke's still sleeping?"

"Yeah," he replied.

"It's him, right? There's something going on between you two?"

Naruto sighed, a little annoyed. Of course there was something wrong. They were boyfriends, yet they had spent the entire night in cold silence, each on their side of the bed.

"I thought I didn't have to talk about it now if I didn't want to?"

"Okay, fine," she gave up. "Nice tattoo, by the way," she said a little cynically.

"I knew you'd hate it," he scratched the back of his head sheepishly.

She chuckled, "I first saw it on tv. I wanted to kill you when I saw you next, but your father talked me out of it."

"Remind me to thank him later," Naruto smiled at his mother's antics.

She finished preparing the pancakes and put them in the oven so they'd stay warm. They sat at the table, drinking some juice and talking about various things, when Sasuke walked up the stairs. He was wearing casual jeans and t-shirt, and he had his hands in his pocket as he came to sit beside Naruto.

"Good morning," he told Kushina politely.

"Good morning to you too," she smiled, "did you sleep well?"

"Yeah, it brought back good memories to be sleeping here," he glanced sideways at Naruto with a little smile.

Naruto was surprised by his attitude, but it was a good thing, he supposed.

"All right, I don't want any details!" she laughed and got up to take out the plate and put it on the table so they could eat breakfast.

Naruto was glad because the three of them spent a nice moment together. They ate and drank juice and some tea, and talked for a while. Even if his mother wasn't working, she was still a very smart and interesting woman with well argued opinions on all sorts of subjects. But she was still a woman, so the conversation ended up being about love and relationships. She asked Naruto all sorts of questions; about Ino and her new boyfriend, about Kiba and Suigetsu – those questions were a little harder to answer – and about Kimiko and Sasuke. The atmosphere kind of tensed a little, and Naruto knew his mother's intentions weren't bad, but he was still a bit resentful that she'd brought up this subject…

"I mean I saw you kiss her live on tv!" Kushina exclaimed, and then turned to look at her son. "That didn't bother you, Naruto?"

"Well a little, yeah, but… it was for… I dunno…"

"My boss wanted me to do it," Sasuke interrupted him.

"Really?" she exclaimed, "but you could've refused, no?"

"I refused," he said, his expression blank, "but let's just say Kimi wasn't waiting for my permission."

"So Ka-san, you'd started telling me earlier about Oto-san's new strategy to bring up his party in the elections?" Naruto suddenly asked; not so subtle change of subjects, he was aware, but that was the best he could do.

It worked anyway, and for the rest of the conversation Sasuke's kissing other people on television wasn't brought up again.

After that they were invited to Sakura and Itachi's place. They shared a little house - well, normal sized actually, but little compared to the Uchiha mansion - in Konoha not too far from Naruto's parents' place. They went by car anyway, Naruto not losing an opportunity to use his car, which he couldn't do very often in the city.

As they got in and joined Sakura and Itachi in their living room, Naruto thought the decoration was very nice, mixing modern and traditional. He had no doubt Sakura had taken advantage of all her money and hired a private decorator or something. He also thought she was a little overdressed with her heels, black skirt and red blouse. They were family; after all, it wasn't like it was one of her business dinners. As for Itachi, he was wearing simple black jeans and long sleeve shirt – again sharing his little brother's taste in clothes and style.

"Let me get you some drinks!" Sakura exclaimed, "What would you like Sasuke-kun?"

"Err… I don't know, what are you drinking ni-san?" He asked his brother, who already had a glass in his hands.

"Scotch"

"I'll have that," Sasuke said.

"Okay," she chuckled, "Uchiha are such hardcore drinkers. What about you Naruto?"

"Just water… but let me help you," he got up and followed her to the kitchen, leaving the two brothers alone.

She pulled her long blonde and pink hair up in a ponytail quickly with a tie that was previously around her wrist, and took out some wine from the fridge, pouring herself some in a cup. Then she took care of Sasuke's drink, and Naruto poured himself some water in a glass. They stayed silent while doing this, but then she leaned on the counter and looked at him, making no movement to go back.

"Are you okay?" Naruto asked her.

"Yeah," she made a little smile as she looked back at him, "It's just… God Naruto I missed you so much! You have no idea."

"I missed you too Sakura-chan," he smiled back.

"I feel really lonely sometimes. I mean I'm happy to be living here with Itachi of course! But I have no one else. You know how my parents are… they're nice and all but they're not exactly good confidents. And I think Mikoto would rather die then hear that my couple's not absolutely perfect," she chuckled. "I'm so pathetic that sometimes I talk to the cleaning lady."

"Yeah I know what you mean… Kiba changed, everybody changed. I can't really talk to anyone either…"

"I miss the time when we could just talk and tell each other all our problems," she said.

Naruto sighed, "Just spit it out, Sakura. You clearly have something on your mind that you want to tell me."

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Of course."

"And can you give me a hundred percent honest answer?"

"I'll… I promise I'll try…" he frowned, crossing his arms.

"Do you think Itachi really loves me?"

Well, he couldn't say he hadn't seen that one coming, but it was still hard to see her like this, pleading for someone else to tell her the undeniable truth, with her big green eyes so, so sad.

He hesitated, "It's not my place to say anything about him. I barely know him…"

"But the only person he talks to is Sasuke. And Sasuke must talk to you…Please, Naruto…" she pleaded.

"It's not going so well between Sasuke and me either, to tell you the truth," he sighed.

"Oh," she said, glancing away, "well he does seem more distant than before. But anyway, I'm sorry, I don't know why I'm getting all emotional," she smiled, trying to lighten the mood, "it's probably because I get to see you again. I really missed you," she repeated, then picked up the drinks and made her way back to the living room.

"Thanks," Sasuke said when she handed him the scotch.

Naruto slowly returned to sit beside him, his glass of water in his hands, and he wondered what Itachi and his boyfriend had talked about.

Sakura took a sip of her wine and then got up again, "Oh, let me put on some music!"

She went to the stereo system and put on some classical music, then returned to sit beside her husband… who was glaring at her.

"Sakura, they like metal."

"It's really okay," Naruto laughed, "it's not like we can't listen to other types of music, you know."

"See, it's okay," Sakura smiled nervously. "I bought your record, by the way," she added, looking at Sasuke and then again at Naruto.

"She doesn't like it," Itachi said, "she just bought it… to buy it, I guess," he chuckled lightly.

"To encourage them!" she exclaimed, "and it's not true that I don't like it! I like a few songs; there are some slower ones that are really good. Sasuke-kun has such a great voice!"

After that Itachi remained silent, just like Sasuke. Sakura and Naruto talked together enthusiastically though, about anything from music and movies to their friends and how they were doing. She was glad to hear some news about Sai, Gaara and Lee, and Naruto was pleased to hear some more details about how Hinata, Temari and Shikamaru were doing because he hadn't had a lot of time to talk to them before the wedding.

When it was time to eat, she impressed them with her cooking skills; she served home made ramen and sushi.

"This is really good Sakura!" Naruto exclaimed enthusiastically. "I think it's even better than Ichiraku ramen!"

"I think that was the best compliment you could give me," Sakura laughed, clearly pleased.

Sasuke barely touched his food, and Itachi ate some sushi and then just kept drinking more. Sakura also drank a lot of wine, and at some point she became a little tipsy…

"We should all go out tonight!" she said excitedly, standing and going to sit on Itachi's lap, throwing her arm around his neck. "What do you think?"

"It's Monday, Sakura," Itachi replied.

Even after all the alcohol he'd had, he didn't even look drunk in the slightest. His tone of voice wasn't mean; it was just bored and even.

"Oh, right," she chuckled, "but we should do something fun! I could invite some more friends over, we could have a little party!"

"I'm sorry, Sakura, I'm gonna go to bed early tonight," Itachi replied. "And besides, Sasuke and Naruto have a long drive back to Tokyo."

"Oh, you're right I guess," she said, her voice suddenly depressed and sad as she pulled away from Itachi. "And we do have to work tomorrow…"

"So I guess we'd better go…" Sasuke said, standing.

"Okay," Naruto agreed, "well thank you so much for the hospitality," he smiled at Sakura. "It was great, and delicious, too!"

"I always knew how to win you over," Sakura teased him.

"You should come see us in Tokyo soon," he told them as he put on his shoes and picked up his jacket.

"We will," she smiled and hugged him.

They waited as Sasuke was talking quietly with his brother in the other room, and then he walked towards Naruto and also put on his shoes. When they were ready to go, they went outside and Naruto noticed that Sasuke was shivering.

"Why aren't you wearing like, a jacket or something?" he asked as they walked towards Naruto's car.

"I forgot to bring it…" he said.

"Here," Naruto stopped to remove his own jacket and put it on Sasuke instead.

After that he went to unlock the car and they took place in the front seats. Again, the ride was pretty much quiet at first, and they simply listened to music. But at some point Naruto got tired of all this silence and he felt like talking.

"Sakura asked me if I thought Itachi really loved her," he said and Sasuke turned to look at him.

"What'd you say?"

"That it wasn't my place to talk about that," Naruto shrugged. "But… I feel really bad, though. I mean, I do know that he doesn't love her."

"Well, even if you'd told her, I don't think it would've made any difference. She would've stayed with him anyway."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Naruto made a little sad smile, his eyes never leaving the road.

"You know what you asked me yesterday, that it was hard to decide what to do with our life?"

"Yeah…?"

"Well I asked Itachi earlier. He's already thought about it. He wants to run his own branch of the company, and maybe eventually make it an independent company if it's successful enough. He has his own team of scientists and researchers ready to work for him, and he has plenty of great ideas…"

"That's awesome," Naruto said sincerely.

"Yeah, but my father's gonna be so pissed that he did this behind his back," Sasuke sighed.

"At some point, your father's gonna have to realize he can't control his sons' lives, and he's gonna have to accept you the way you are…" Naruto replied.

"I'm not sure he can," Sasuke sighed again.

There was a moment of silence, and the song Broken sang by Sasuke and Kimiko started playing on the radio – live show version of course, since it had never been recorded. Even though Naruto didn't really like it because it reminded him of when Kimiko had French kissed his boyfriend on stage, he decided to leave it because he liked the song. But to his surprise, Sasuke was the one who changed it.

"Why'd you…?"

"I don't really like hearing myself," Sasuke replied.

"Why?" Naruto asked, "You have a great voice."

Sasuke shrugged and turned to glance outside the window. Naruto sighed and put one of his records instead of the radio, and turned up the volume, resigned to spend the rest of the drive in silence.

- Chidori -

On Thursday, Naruto was watching Sasuke play on the keyboard. Sasuke didn't know that he was there. He was playing a beautiful and sad melody, and Naruto felt like crying as he listened, leaning in the door frame. Sasuke was still wearing just his pajama pants - even though it was late afternoon - but it seemed he had gotten up with inspiration to play. And Naruto was glad because maybe, just maybe that meant that Sasuke was getting better.

Well the past few days it had gotten slightly better; they were kissing and making sweet talk, they'd even had sex… Sasuke was still a little bit cold and distant but still, Naruto couldn't help but be hopeful.

Suddenly Sasuke stopped playing and turned to stare at him.

"Sorry," Naruto smiled, "I didn't want to bother you. It was so beautiful…"

"Not really," Sasuke sighed, standing and stretching his skinny limbs, "I can't come up with anything good…"

"Stop being so hard on yourself," Naruto frowned as he walked up to him.

He wanted to wrap his arms around him to pull him closer, but Sasuke softly pushed him away and returned to their bedroom. Naruto followed him and saw that he was checking his cell.

"Who are you texting?"

"Suigetsu…" Sasuke said absent-mindedly, "there's a party…"

"Please don't say at Orochimaru's," Naruto pleaded.

"What's the big deal?" Sasuke asked him on an even tone.

Naruto took a deep breath, trying to calm himself.

"Well first, I hate it when you go there. Second, I already told you Yoshikazu and Ino wanted to hang out with us tonight."

"Why would I want to hang out with them?"

"I'm gonna be there too, you know," Naruto sighed.

Sasuke didn't answer; instead he continued texting on his cell.

"I'll be in the shower if you're interested," Naruto told him, but again he got no reaction. "Bastard," he muttered and Sasuke didn't hear him.

He used to call Sasuke a bastard kind of fondly, in a way, but now he really meant it… Sasuke was being such a jerk to him lately…

Of course Sasuke didn't join him in the shower, instead when Naruto was done he went to take his place without a single word.

Naruto decided to ignore him too, and he put on his favourite pair of skinny jeans with a sexy tank top and light black vest over it. He put some paste that Ino had given him in his hair to make them this stylish messy look that you often saw in the commercials for guys' hair products. If anything, he wanted to at least try to make Sasuke regret his decision…

But Sasuke didn't seem to be regretting anything at all. He also put on skinny jeans, but with a dark blue long sleeve shirt. He didn't even glance at Naruto, and he picked up his stuff and walked up to the door.

"Where are you going?" Naruto asked.

"I'm just gonna go hang out with Suigetsu before the party…"

"Fine," Naruto snapped. "Enjoy your time with your junkie friends."

Sasuke ignored him as usual, and closed the door behind him. Naruto went to sit on the couch, resting his head in his hands. He felt like crying…

Suddenly, on a whim, he went to their bedroom to pick up the notebook he had given to Sasuke for his birthday. He knew Sasuke kept it safely in his drawer beside the bed. He returned to the living room and sat crossed legged on the couch, and opened the notebook at the very last page. There was a picture of Sasuke and him playing guitar together in his basement. Karin had taken it. Sasuke was smiling, embarrassed, because he thought his playing guitar sucked, and he was doing it just for fun. As for Naruto, he was smiling, but with confidence, because he just loved playing. He had put this picture on the last page because it represented them playing music together.

He didn't want to write on that page. So instead he turned one page, and he was now staring at a picture his mother had taken of them sleeping together in Naruto's bed. He'd been traumatized after that, and always checked twice if the door was locked. But the picture was still nice; the sheets were covering them to their waists, and Naruto was spooning Sasuke. Both were sleeping soundly, cuddled up together for warmth; it was during winter and it had been really cold in the basement. Naruto sighed, and suddenly he picked up a pen and started writing.

He wasn't inspired to write lyrics very often, actually most of the time his lyrics sucked. The only good one he'd written, he'd worked on it with Sasuke afterwards and it had become one of their hit singles. He was very proud of it, but that had been the only one. The other songs were all Sasuke's lyrics.

But right now he just needed to let it all out… He wrote the lyrics carefully, not wanting to ruin the notebook. Halfway through his work, he picked up his guitar to work on some chords, singing his lyrics in a low voice.

After a couple of hours his cell phone vibrated, interrupting his work. It was Ino.

"Where the hell are you? Sasuke's not answering his cell! We're worried."

He glanced at the time and gasped, "I'm so sorry Ino! I was writing a song, and I didn't realize it was so late…"

"You were writing a song? With Sasuke?" Ino asked enthusiastically.

"No… Sasuke's not coming tonight, actually. I'm sorry I should've called you earlier. Look, I'll be on my way right now, all right?"

"Okay, no rush, I just wanted to make sure you were okay," Ino replied. "Oh and Karin's here, too."

"Cool, I'm on my way!" he told her than hung up.

He put the notebook back in its place; Sasuke never touched it anyway so he wouldn't find out, and besides it was almost at the last page.

- Chidori -

"Hey man," Yoshikazu exclaimed when he opened the door, "I thought you'd never make it here!" he laughed. "Come on in!"

Naruto smiled and thanked him, then slipped off his shoes and glanced around the small but cozy apartment. There were posters everywhere on the walls; Fast and Furious movies, girls in bikinis and of course rock bands – there was even a Chidori poster.

"You have a poster of my band in your apartment!" Naruto laughed, "That's pretty cool!"

"I'm a fan," he shrugged, smiling, "I was the one to ask Kabuto if we could go on tour with you guys. We got lucky! The first band that was supposed to go with you was having trouble, so…"

"Really? I didn't even know! What band was that?"

"Akatsuki," he answered. "I met them a few times. The singer and guitarists are cool, but the bassist and drummer are kind of weird, and they always quit the band for some reason, then come back, then quit again – they've got issues," Yoshikazu finished in a laugh.

"What kind of issues?" Naruto asked, amused, as they sat around the table.

The girls weren't there, but Naruto could hear feminine voices from the other room and the door was closed, so he figured they were doing some… feminine activity in there, like putting on makeup or doing their hair or something.

"The bassist is in this fucked up sect. He says it's a religion, but it's really a sect, and it's really weird. Anyway, the guitarist's a friend of mine, his name is Deidara, and he once told me that their practices were always interrupted because that guy needed to do some kind of rituals…"

"Hey I think I know him!" Naruto cut him, "Deidara, I mean, I think I met him at Orochimaru's last party."

"Ah yeah that's possible, he's a pretty hardcore partier."

"You're one to talk," Naruto teased him.

Yoshikazu leaned back in his chair and put his hands behind his neck, a smile on his lips, "Heh, what can I say? Love changed me!"

"How romantic," he said half-teasing, then more thoughtfully, "So his band's name is Akatsuki…" He'd just had an idea for his song… "What kind of music are they doing?"

"You could call it punk metal I guess," Yoshi shrugged, "Why?"

Perfect, Naruto thought.

"Just curious," he also shrugged, "So you were saying? About their weirdness and issues?"

"Oh yeah! The drummer, that guy is weird! He's always talking about money. He's obsessed with making more money, that's like, the only thing he can think or talk about…"

"You're right they seem weird," Naruto laugh, "Maybe even weirder than you Black Souls weirdos."

Yoshikazu's expression darkened a bit, and he smiled sadly, "Our band's pretty much dead now."

"How come?"

"Well Takumi's gone… so now we have no guitarist and no song writer. Kimi said she was gonna try and write songs herself, but…" he chuckled, "I don't think it's gonna work out."

"Yeah," Naruto sighed, "but maybe you'll find a new person for your band? You could hold auditions or something."

"I don't think so…" he shook his head sadly, "We're not that famous. For a lot of people now we're just 'that band who did Chidori's first part'. It's not like if _you_ would quit your band. Then I think all the dudes who can play a little guitar in Japan would come here and audition," he added.

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Naruto said thoughtfully.

He'd never thought he'd considered leaving the band one day, but now, with the way Sasuke was acting recently – and the two others weren't much better – he couldn't be sure of anything.

The girls suddenly came out of the room – which Naruto now realized was the bathroom – with new hair and wide smiles.

"Since you took so long we had to find something to do!" Ino exclaimed. "But I'm glad you're here now!"

"You cut your hair?" Yoshi smiled, "Wow, it looks really good!"

"Thanks babe!" she smiled and went to kiss him.

Actually there wasn't much of a change for Ino; her hair was as long as before, but she had bangs framing her face now. As for Karin she also had bangs, and the rest of her hair was layered and cut shoulder length, and she had also recently done a deep red hair dye.

"Looking good," Naruto smiled at her.

"Thank you Naruto!" Karin smiled back, "Me thinks you also need a haircut!"

"Well Sasuke likes long hair better so…"

"So what? You like your hair shorter, I know because you told me so yourself!" Ino replied, amused.

"You're not even a hairdresser!" Naruto teased her, "How can you do such good haircuts?"

"Call it natural gift! Just like you with your guitar!"

"Uh… in case you didn't know, I've been taking lessons since I was a kid, and I had music option as a class in high school…"

"Oh," she laughed, "well I don't know for me cutting and styling hair just came naturally. But I've had practice too, of course."

They pretty much made little talk like this the whole evening, and they ordered some pizza and ate too, and all in all it was nice and refreshing for Naruto. It wasn't like the heavy atmosphere always lingering in his own apartment with Sasuke…

"Hey Yoshi can I borrow your laptop? I want to show you something!" Karin exclaimed after they had all finished eating.

"Sure," he said, intrigued, as he went to get his computer.

She typed something on google and turned the screen so that everyone could see.

"Who is she?" Ino asked, "Oh, is it the actress you're working as an agent for?"

"Yes!" Karin nodded enthusiastically, "Isn't she beautiful?"

"Sure is," Yoshikazu nodded, impressed, and then Ino glared at him. "Not as beautiful as you, of course," he added quickly and they all laughed.

"She's half-Japanese, half-French, actually," Karin explained.

Naruto looked at the picture as Karin continued talking proudly about the young actress. She had long black hair, naturally wavy, which gave away she wasn't completely Asian. She also had green eyes, but they were almond-shaped; she truly was beautiful.

"What's her next project?" Ino asked Karin.

"A movie called Fallen Angel. It's a love movie, actually. Sappy and all, but hey some people like those kinds of movies," she teased Ino, and got the reaction she'd wanted.

"Hey I love romantic movies!" the blonde exclaimed.

"What's the story?" Naruto asked Karin.

"Well, Ariane's gonna play the first role, it's a girl that's forced to marry a rich Japanese guy by her family. But of course she hates him, so she runs away. She's young and doesn't know what she's doing, so of course she runs into trouble. There's mention of prostitution, drugs, it's a very modern movie, actually. It's gonna be filmed in Kyoto mostly. And then there's this guy…"

"Why is there always a guy that has to save the girl?" Yoshikazu asked, amused, "Can't she grow some lady balls and get out of that crappy situation herself?"

"Anyway," Karin laughed, "I kind of agree with Yoshi, but that's not the point. The guy is an American and he's in Japan for, you know, just some vacation, sight seeing… But his friends hear about this place where there are hot girls dancing and all, and he reluctantly follows them there. And of course…"

"He meets the girl," Naruto finished for her. "How does it end?"

He secretly liked romantic movies. Well of course some of them were crap, and way too sappy, but he liked the good ones. Sometimes Sasuke made fun of him because of that, and it was a little embarrassing, but he couldn't help it.

"I'm not gonna tell you!" Karin exclaimed, laughing, as she closed the laptop, "You're gonna have to come see the movie when it comes out! Well, it's gonna be in a while I guess… We're still working on the casting."

"I can't wait to see it," Ino smiled, "Sounds like a great movie!"

"It sounds less lame than most chick flicks," Yoshi shrugged.

Naruto smiled and continued listening to their conversation for a little while, and then he decided to go home.

"Thanks for coming Naruto!" Ino exclaimed, "You'll have to come back soon so I can cut your hair and fix the highlights!"

"I will!" he laughed, and then he closed the door and ran outside to his car.

Back to his apartment, Sasuke still wasn't home – no surprise there though, he'd probably spend the night at Orochimaru's…

So Naruto took the notebook and kept working on his song. He was inspired and finished in less than an hour. He picked up his cell phone, hesitated only a second, and dialled Kabuto's number.

"Hello?"

"Hey Kabuto, how are you?"

"I'm good, actually Sasuke-kun's right beside me, did you want to talk to him?"

"No, actually I wanted to ask you something. Do you have Deidara's cell phone number?"

"Deidara? Yes, why? I didn't even know you knew him!"

"Actually I met him at the last party, and I thought he was really cool, but forgot to ask him…"

"Okay, sure no problem Naruto-kun, I'll sms it to you in a minute, is that good?"

"Ya, thanks man!"

They hung up and Naruto lamely waited with his phone in his hands. Thankfully he didn't have to wait too long. Kabuto could be useful sometimes. Besides, this way it didn't look too suspicious. It was a whim, it was selfish, even childish perhaps, but he wanted to do this without his band – behind Sasuke's back, really. He could've just worked with the Black Souls, but he didn't want Kimiko to sing his lyrics either.

So he dialled the number Kabuto had sent him and pressed his phone to his ear again.

"Hello, is this Deidara's secret boyfriend?"

Naruto frowned, confused, and he was about to answer when he heard another voice – a familiar one this time – yell near the phone.

"Damn it Yahiko I don't have any secret boyfriend! Give me back my damn phone!"

"So, what's your answer? You're very quiet. This is boring, I'm hanging up…"

"Damn it Yahiko!" Deidara repeated.

"Wait!" Naruto exclaimed, "Don't hang up. I have a proposition for you guys," he added, remembering Deidara had told him this Yahiko guy was the singer of the band.

"If it's a threesome, then no thanks. I have a girlfriend, and I happen to be faithful…"

"I wrote a song and I want you to sing it," Naruto said and waited, hopeful.

"Who the hell are you anyway?" the guy replied, apparently annoyed.

"What'd he say?" Deidara asked.

"I'm the guitarist of Chidori," he said, holding his breath; he didn't like using his fame like that, but he really wanted, and needed, to do this.

"Well fuck me…" the guy muttered, evidently shocked.

"Why you… Give me back my phone!" Deidara shouted again, and this time it seemed he was successful in retrieving his cell, "Hey, what's up?" he asked in English.

"Like I just told your friend, I want to do a song with you guys," he laughed; Deidara had this effect on him.

"Who're you, mate?" Deidara asked.

"Naruto, we met at the party last week on Friday, remember?"

"Naruto! Hey man! It's so cool that you're calling me! I'm a big fan!"

"Cool," Naruto laughed, "I was wondering, are you guys currently recording at a studio?"

"Yes, we're supposed to produce a record… eventually…"

"I wanna do a single with you guys. Are you interested?"

"Fuck yeah!" Deidara shouted, still in English, and Naruto had to pull the phone away from his ear.

"So, maybe we could meet tomorrow?" he suggested.

"Yeah! Wait, what day's tomorrow?"

"Friday you idiot," Yahiko's voice said. "And yes, tell him to meet us at 12."

"I heard it!" Naruto exclaimed. "I'll see you tomorrow!"

"Awesome! I can't wait!" Deidara shouted, "Art is a bang yeah!"

He hung up. Naruto looked at his phone for a moment, confused. Art is a bang?

TBC

A/N: Again, thank you for the reviews. And yeah, I named the band Akatsuki lol I'm a very creative person sometimes.


	14. Akatsuki

Chidori

Chapter 14 – Akatsuki

Naruto woke up with the annoying sound of his cell alarm buzzing. He reached with his arm to stop it, grunting. It didn't even wake Sasuke up. Then again, it was only 10 am, and he had no idea at what time Sasuke had gotten back. Probably ridiculously late.

Naruto frowned, worried; Sasuke was pale, greyish, even, and his breathing was hard. Unfortunately, Naruto was used to it…

Well, the whole point of what he would do that very day was to send Sasuke a message through his song. So he got up, stretched, yawned, and then made his way to the bathroom to take a shower.

Before going to sleep he had copied his lyrics on a loose sheet of paper and put the notebook back in Sasuke's drawer. So when he was ready he folded the sheet and shoved it in his pocket. He glanced back at Sasuke; still sleeping soundly. He picked up his guitar, locked the door and then went to take the subway. He liked driving better of course, but Sound Records studios were downtown and finding a parking place was impossible – literally.

He got there a little early, but he called Deidara anyway to know in which studio exactly they were recording.

"Hey, we just got here," Deidara told him in a much less enthusiastic voice than the last times; well, it's not like the guy could be drunk 24/7 now could he.

He told him where to meet them and hung up. When Naruto got to the small studio room, the four young men were just getting ready.

"Hey," Naruto was a little nervous.

"Hey," a guy with spiky red hair and several piercings said, "I didn't think you'd actually come."

"Well…" Naruto shrugged.

"All right Naruto," Deidara said, taking a break from tuning his guitar, "this is Yahiko, lead singer," he pointed the red-head, "and that freak is Hidan, he's the bassist…" he turned and pointed at the guy standing right behind him.

"Shut up or…"

"Or Jashin will destroy me, I know," Deidara finished for him, "You keep saying that Hidan, but as we all can see, it keeps not happening."

The others laughed, and the one named Hidan growled, but remained silent.

"And that other freak back there is Kakuzu, he's the drummer in case you hadn't figured it out yet."

"Stop being a fucking smart ass Deidara," the one sitting behind the drums threatened, "this guy can bring us a lot of money."

Well, Naruto thought, Yoshikazu had been right about these guys. But all that really interested Naruto was their sound.

"Shut up Kakuzu," Deidara snapped, "So yeah, I'm the guitarist, and I also do back vocals. And that's pretty much it. I also wanted to apologize if I was acting weird when I was drunk… I tend to say weird things…"

"Like art is a bang?" Naruto laughed.

"He actually says that when he's sober too," Yahiko said. "But I think the funniest thing when he's drunk is that he starts talking in English with a British accent."

"My dad's British," Deidara said defensively.

"Whatever," Yahiko said, "So, Naruto, you actually want to do a song with us?"

"Yes," he answered firmly.

"Why, you want to get back at your band or something?" Deidara asked him.

"You could say that…" Naruto hesitated.

"Cool, whatever," the blond smiled. "You don't need to say more. Actually we could use a good song. These two idiots can't write for shit," he said glancing at the two long-haired guys behind him, who both sent him murderous glares, "And Yahiko and I write sometimes, but…"

"But no one wants to hear your shit about explosions being so artistic or whatever," Yahiko mocked him.

"And no one wants to hear your crap about how deeply in love you are with Konan and how _fun_ it is to do origami with her," Deidara replied, "We're Akatsuki, a metal band, not Justin Bieber for crissake…"

"At least Justin Bieber is making money," Kakuzu pointed out.

"Shut up," the three others said in unison.

"Okay," Yahiko stared at Naruto, "question is, can you write good music, pretty boy?"

"Well," the blond started a little nervously, "I did write one song for Chidori…"

"Which one?" Yahiko asked.

"Tears don't fall…"

Four pairs of wide eyes stared at him. Well, it had been one of the hit singles of Chidori's first record after all.

Yahiko smiled for the first time, "Show me that song man, we're in."

Naruto grinned, took out the piece of paper and showed it to Yahiko as he plugged his guitar in the amp. He started playing, showing them what he'd been thinking for the melody going with his lyrics. It turned out they were very excited about this.

The sound technician, actually a young woman with dark blue hair and a lip piercing, arrived at 12:45.

"Hey guys," she said as she took place behind the clear wall.

"You're late _again_, Konan," Deidara told her.

"Sorry," she said but she didn't sound sorry at all.

"Did you read my little note?" Yahiko asked.

She smiled, "Yes… I love you too Yahiko."

"I love you so much Konan."

"Aww," Deidara mocked them.

"Guys, seriously?" Hidan exclaimed, rolling his eyes in annoyance.

"Why is the guitarist from Chidori here?" she asked, suddenly noticing Naruto.

"He's working with us for a song," Yahiko answered.

"We're gonna be rich," Kakuzu said before doing a random little drum solo.

"Does Orochimaru know about this?" Konan asked, frowning.

"Nope," Deidara said.

"No one needs to know for now," Naruto shrugged.

"Don't worry about it for now babe," Yahiko reassured her.

"All right, whatever, show me what you've got," she said, intrigued.

Naruto grinned; they could finally start practicing his song. And once they had shut their mouths and gotten to work, Akatsuki were actually pretty good musicians. Yahiko's voice sounded great with the style of Naruto's song; it was more rasp than Sasuke's, and he was doing the screaming himself, too. To add more effect and enhance some of the lines and chorus, Naruto and Deidara sang along with Yahiko. They also both played guitar, of course. Naruto thought it made their sound richer, more complete, and he wondered why they'd never thought of hiring another guitarist for Chidori.

Konan was very enthusiastic about this. She made suggestions, and they tried a bunch of things; different versions, adding something more with the instruments and the singing every time.

At the end of the day they were exhausted, but totally thrilled. Hidan hadn't even interrupted their practice to do his religious prayers, and the others told Naruto that it was a first. As for Kakuzu, he was a little bit annoying and kept repeating they would soon be rich.

Naruto really enjoyed working with Deidara and Yahiko, though, and they promised to make an exception and work the next day, Saturday, to continue working on his song.

- Chidori -

Sasuke was relaxed and felt so fucking good. A couple hours ago he'd been worried because Naruto wasn't home and he had no idea where he was. But then Kimi, Suigetsu, Kiba and Sarah had come over to his place, and since it was Friday night they had decided to go party together. Sasuke would have invited Naruto, but he still wasn't home and besides, he was certain his boyfriend would decline, and just give him shit for going out again.

He was feeling such a rush because of all the dope he had taken, and he was dancing with Kimiko. They were at a rather crowded night club, and because they were famous and the doorman was a fan, they had let them in without carding them.

Kiba was drunk out of his mind as usual – Sasuke was certain that guy would die of liver cancer or something, although he shouldn't talk since his own lifestyle wasn't much better – and dancing passionately with his new girlfriend Sarah.

As for Kimiko, she was also in an ecstasy high, and dancing intensely in between Sasuke and Suigetsu.

"Your cell!" Kimiko suddenly exclaimed, taking Sasuke's phone out of his pocket, "Oh, it's from Naruto, look!"

Sasuke had to focus his eyes to read the three words on the little screen; "Where are you?"

"Do you want to answer him?" Kimi shouted so she could be heard over the loud music.

"I don't care," he replied.

She shrugged and put the phone back in Sasuke's jean pocket. She turned around to face Suigetsu instead. Sasuke put his hands around her tiny waist covered only by a very thin and transparent white t-shirt.

As for Suigetsu he was wearing his now trademarked look; black skinny jeans and violet shirt. Suddenly Kimi put her hand behind Suigetsu's neck, entangling her delicate fingers in his silver dyed hair, and kissed him passionately.

Glancing beside him Sasuke saw that Kiba was also making out with Sarah quite intensely. She was very tall, and tonight she was wearing a short skirt and heels; she was pretty much the same height as Kiba, and the latter was tall himself for a guy. Needless to say, most straight guys in the club envied Kiba.

Suigetsu and Kimiko were still making out. Sasuke felt left out. Longing for more physical contact, he pressed himself closer and grinded against Kimi's butt. She gasped and turned around, laughing.

"Well someone's horny!" she smiled then kissed him.

Sasuke moaned and kissed back passionately. When they finally pulled away, out of breath, they simply continued dancing like crazy.

"You two kiss each other!" the fiery girl exclaimed as she stepped away.

In his fucked up state, Sasuke was way beyond caring that the guy in front of him was, in fact, his best friend since they were kids. Actually Suigetsu was the one who made the first move; he put his hands on Sasuke's bony hips and pulled him closer.

The raven rolled his head back as the silver-haired started kissing his neck. His lips were so soft, his breath ticklish, his hands warm against the pale skin of his hips. Suigetsu's hands then moved from his hips all the way up to his hair, and he undid his ponytail, putting the tie around his wrist and entangling his fingers in Sasuke's now loose hair.

Sasuke moaned, tilted his head to the side and met Suigetsu's lips. They danced and grinded each other, losing themselves to music and lust – uncaring about anything else. Sasuke put his hands on Suigetsu's back and nape, deepening the kiss. Their tongues battled, but Suigetsu took the lead and Sasuke let him.

"That is so hot!" Kimiko shouted beside them.

Sasuke felt so damn good. He just wanted to continue dancing forever…

A few hours – and a couple more drinks and white pills – later they were still dancing, only at a different place, an after hour club.

People were all fucked up there. Drunk, on speed or E, it didn't matter. Sasuke just wanted to keep dancing, and he just didn't care about anything in the world. He certainly didn't notice when someone took pictures of him from a nearby spot on the dance floor…

- Chidori -

When Naruto woke up on Saturday morning, Sasuke still wasn't back home. He tried texting him again, and calling him, but still got no answer. He even tried calling Suigetsu and Kiba, but neither of them answered their phones…

He tried to calm down, and he told himself that Sasuke had probably partied hard and spent the night at Kiba and Suigetsu's apartment, and that now they were all passed out… Or maybe he was at Orochimaru's…

He wasn't reassured in the slightest, but he got ready anyway, picked up his guitar, and went to the studio.

He almost forgot about all his worries when he played with Akatsuki; the song just kept sounding better and better, and actually Konan eventually told them it was perfect.

They had worked really hard all day, but it had been totally worth it. After all this time, Naruto felt good to be back in a studio to play some good music. Even if he wasn't with his friends, it still felt awesome. Kiba, Suigetsu and Sasuke only cared about partying all the time now, but Naruto wasn't like that. He still wanted to make music.

Hidan and Kakuzu went home, and Konan stayed at the studio, saying she had some more job to get done, but Yahiko and Deidara felt like going for a drink. They invited Naruto to tag along, and he accepted. He didn't feel like going home to a constantly hangover, drugged and fucked up Sasuke anyway…

So later he was sitting at a table in a bar with Deidara, Yahiko and a pitcher of beer. He was having a good time; these two were insane, but they were fun to hang out with. Naruto was also starting to get a little tipsy…

"I really loved working with you guys!" he told them enthusiastically.

"I liked working with you too," Deidara smiled, clinging their beers, "it was an honour!"

"Yeah," Yahiko agreed, "that song is bad ass. So who does it talk about?"

"That's private," Naruto shrugged. "Sorry…"

"Oh come on," Deidara pleaded, it was clear he was starting to get drunk too, "you can tell us! We can keep secrets!"

"Don't listen to him," Yahiko chuckled. "He can't keep secrets for shit."

"Shut up! That's not true!" Deidara exclaimed. "So do you guys feel like dancing a little bit?"

"No I'm just gonna stay here and get drunk for no reason," Yahiko said.

"What about you Naruto? Come on pretty please!" he laughed, standing, "Come on!" he insisted.

"Fine!" Naruto laughed, following him.

He actually did feel like dancing. Well, it was always fun to him, anyway. But Deidara, with his flaming homosexuality far from being a secret, and his lean and sexy body, long blond hair pulled up in a ponytail, pale eyes and cute face; well he wasn't Naruto's type but he was still really pleasant to look at…

He was also a good dancer. They were smiling and having a lot of fun, just dancing, showing off their moves a little.

"You're a really great dancer!" Deidara told him.

"You too!" Naruto said sincerely.

They gathered a little crowd around them as they became more and more confident. They really were showing off at this point. And, they were also teasing each other a little, just for fun.

At some point Deidara leaned closer and chuckled, "I didn't know you were gay!" he said in a low voice so that no one else could hear.

Naruto laughed, "Oh shit, what gave me away?"

"You're staring at me!" Deidara's smile widened, "Not that I mind!"

The little crowd around them apparently got bored and scattered away, and they had gone back to being just normal dancers amongst everyone else. But that was okay, Naruto was glad to just have fun and relax a little bit. Eventually they got tired; they had worked very hard at the studio for two days in a row, after all. They returned to sit with Yahiko – who had drunk quite a lot of beer.

"You didn't leave any for us!" Deidara exclaimed, before making his way to the bar to order another pitcher.

"S'rry," Yahiko slurred, "So hey you're a really good dancer, I was watching you from here. Deidara's totally into you. You two should definitely hook up."

"I think you're drunk dude," Naruto laughed.

"And here we go!" Deidara exclaimed as he returned with the full pitcher. He filled Naruto's glass first.

"Thanks," he said and drank half of it in one go.

"You're welcome!" he filled Yahiko's glass and then his own. "So cheers to Naruto and his awesome bad ass song!"

They knocked their glasses and each took a few gulps of beer.

"I was just telling Naruto that you two should totally hook up," the red-head guy told Deidara.

The blond blushed slightly, embarrassed, "God damn it Yahiko! You always do this! Why do you keep humiliating me in front of hot guys!"

"It's okay don't worry about it," Naruto laughed, trying to lighten the mood.

"No it's not okay!" Deidara pouted, "It's embarrassing."

"Don't you want to have sex with him?" Yahiko asked his friend.

"Fuck you," Deidara said in English.

"Don't start talking in English please," the other replied. "Just answer the damn question!"

"I'm sure Naruto already has a boyfriend!" Deidara said, glancing at Naruto.

"Yeah, actually, I do," he nodded slightly.

"See! Now shut the hell up and stop trying to humiliate me Yahiko."

"Jeez you're so sensitive Dei," he said before reaching for the pitcher to refill his drink.

"You might want to slow down," Naruto chuckled.

"I'm fine…" Yahiko slurred, his tone of voice contradicting his words.

After finishing the beer, the three of them went outside and called a cab. It turned out they were roommates and living not too far from Naruto's own apartment. So they waited; Yahiko sometimes losing his balance and holding onto Deidara's arm for support.

In the taxi Yahiko sat in the front seat, but he couldn't even tell his address to the driver properly, so Deidara had to do it. They remained silent for a little while, but it was interrupted by Naruto's cell phone.

He answered without looking at the id, hoping it was Sasuke. But it turned out it was Orochimaru…

"I hope I'm not waking you up Naruto-kun," he said.

"No, I wasn't sleeping," he answered.

"Good. I wanted to talk to you about something. I received this demo from Konan earlier this evening… A song written by you, that you had the band Akatsuki produce with you without telling me about it…"

"I'm sorry if that bothered you, but I just thought it was a really good idea," Naruto said lamely.

"What's going on?" Deidara whispered, but Naruto ignored him.

"Let me be perfectly honest with you, Naruto-kun," Orochimaru continued, "I've dealt with a lot of song writers, tortured souls, teenagers, young adults, whatever the name, I suppose you know where this is going… Anyway, I know your song talks about Sasuke. I know this is your way of expressing yourself and of getting some kind of revenge…"

"Look, Sir, I apologize…"

"Stop it. It's fine. I'm calling you to tell you I'm gonna produce the song."

"Really?" Naruto exclaimed, shocked.

"I wanna know," Deidara whispered, "What'd he say?"

"Yes, it's a very good song," Orochimaru said, "And I'm gonna release the single, and have you guys film a video for it. This will work for your little plan, I suppose. And it works for me too, since it will make Akatsuki more famous. Also, I'm aware of the fact that Sasuke's not writing anything at the moment. If this creates some kind of fight in your band, some kind of provocation, and he starts writing again, I'll benefit from that too. I've already rescheduled Chidori's appointments at the studio twice…"

"I understand," Naruto said. "I guess we're both winners in this, then."

"Exactly. I'm glad we think alike. But I assume you are aware that your band mates will probably be very pissed at you, and they might even kick you out. Again, I'm gonna be perfectly honest with you. You're a great guitarist, but there are tons of great guitarists out there. You're not irreplaceable. So if Chidori needs you out, you're out."

"I know. I understand," Naruto said coldly.

"Perfect! Let's see… I was thinking you could shoot the video with Akatsuki on… Wednesday, next week, does that work for you?"

"Yeah no problem," Naruto replied.

"Perfect!" Orochimaru repeated. "Have a good night, Naruto-kun."

"Thank you, you too," he said politely, and then hung up.

"We're making a video!" Deidara exclaimed, apparently he'd gathered this much, "Yahiko, did you hear me, we're gonna film a video for the song! Isn't it awesome?"

"Yeah that's pretty awesome," Yahiko replied, half-asleep.

"We're here," the driver announced, and then he told them the price and Deidara and Naruto paid half-half.

They helped Yahiko out of the passenger's seat, and then he leaned on Deidara for support.

"You're gonna be okay?" Naruto asked him, amused.

"Yeah I'll be fine," he smiled, "I had a great time tonight!"

"I wanna go home," Yahiko said.

"Okay," Deidara chuckled, "Anyway, I'll see you on Wednesday, Naruto!"

"Yeah! And we should totally go out again soon. I'll introduce you to a friend of mine," he said, having decided something spontaneously.

"I don't like people trying to match me," Deidara replied, seeing right through it.

"Well maybe you know him already, his name is Hiroshi, he's, well, was in the Black Souls…"

"I don't think so," Deidara said thoughtfully, "I know Yoshikazu from that band… but that's it. So hum… whatever I guess I'll just trust you on that one!"

"Cool!" Naruto exclaimed, smiling.

"I wanna go home!" Yahiko repeated.

"All right, all right," Deidara laughed, "We're going," he started walking towards the front door of the building, glancing back at Naruto one last time to say bye.

Naruto put his hands in his pockets and walked towards his own apartment that was just down the street. Glancing at his cell phone he saw that it was 2 am. Well, they were officially Sunday now, and one day from his 19th birthday.

A year ago, day for day, he'd met Sasuke for the first time…

His thoughts darkened and he suddenly became depressed, a few tears rolling down his cheeks as he walked down the street slowly.

He reached his apartment and frowned when he saw that the door was unlocked. For a moment he was really scared that maybe they'd been robbed or something. But no, everything was fine, except Sasuke was passed out on the floor…

"Sasuke!" he whispered as he kneed beside him and turned him on his back.

He was trembling slightly, but that could be just from the cold. He was really pale – but that was no different than usual. Naruto picked him up and went to put him on the bed softly. He pulled his limp body up a little so that he could take off his long-sleeve shirt. Again, he frowned when he saw the bruised veins in the crook of his arms. His long raven hair was all loose and messy, and also he had a couple of bruises and scratches all over his body. His hands were particularly hurt. Naruto sighed, on the verge of crying, and then he proceeded to undress Sasuke completely. His legs were also bruised up and bleeding on several places.

"What the fuck happened to you?" he whispered.

He figured he wouldn't be able to wake him up anyway, so for now he pulled the blanket up to his chest and watched over him, hoping the trembling would stop very soon.

Not knowing what else to do, he called Kiba. No answer. He tried Suigetsu…

"Hello?" a sleepy, grouchy voice answered him.

"Suigetsu?"

"Yeah? Naruto, is that you?"

"Yeah, I wanted to know if you were with Sasuke today."

"Yeah, why?"

"I don't mean to be rude but, what the fuck happened? I found him passed out on the floor and all bruised up…"

"Oh," Suigetsu laughed dumbly.

"It's not funny," Naruto snapped, starting to get impatient.

"Sorry I'm still fucked up. We were partying, and, I dunno some parts are like, blank in my memories hum… We took some dope, Sasuke took more than all of us combined I think, and we drank a lot too… We went to an after party, and then we went to Kimi's place to just… continue partying, and then we just hung out and I don't know…"

"Suigetsu, none of what you're saying is helping me, at all," Naruto replied.

"Sorry man, I'm just trying to remember… Oh yeah!"

"What?"

"He fell in the stairs I think."

"What the fuck?"

"At Kimi's… it was funny."

Naruto was about to hang up, frustrated, when Suigetsu added something.

"Oh and he fought with a dude…"

"Why?" Naruto frowned.

"Because he was taking pictures and filming us, and Sasuke got pissed at him, so he fought him and tried to destroy his camera or something. But the guy was pretty buff, you know… I tried to help but… but anyway Sasuke might be a little beat up, but you should've seen the other guy! He was worst… We kicked his ass."

"Well, thanks for telling me, Suigetsu."

"No problem… good night…"

"Night," Naruto whispered then hung up.

He didn't really feel any better now that he knew pretty much everything that had happened. He kept watching Sasuke, even though he was really tired himself and wanted nothing more than just going to bed. He cleaned Sasuke's face at least, and his hands. And then he just ended up cleaning all of his injuries – none of them were serious thankfully. Mostly it was just bruises and scratches, but still, Naruto was worried about him. What if there was something broken and he couldn't see it?

He supposed he'd have to wait for Sasuke to wake up to ask him if he was all right…

He lay down beside Sasuke, trying to keep his eyes opened as he watched over him. He was still trembling, so Naruto, already stripped to his boxers, crawled under the sheets and put his arm around him and pressed his body closer to warm him up. He was also gritting his teeth again – God Naruto hated that sound.

Since he couldn't fall asleep, his mind wandered and he started thinking about his song again, and the video they would make. Naruto wondered what Orochimaru had in mind for that video. As for him he personally didn't care; just as long as he was in it, playing guitar and singing the chorus with Deidara and Yahiko…

His eyes eventually just closed on their own, and he fell asleep holding Sasuke close. His sleep was far from peaceful though; he kept making nightmares of Sasuke getting hurt beyond repair, Sasuke dying of an overdose, him waking up and Sasuke's body being cold and still, dead… At some point in the early hours of morning he woke up crying, and he checked on Sasuke, but he was fine; if you could call that fine… Well at least he was alive. Naruto took a few deep breaths to calm down, he wiped off his eyes and fell back to sleep, and thankfully this time he couldn't remember any bad dreams.

TBC

A/N: The song Tears don't fall is by Bullet for my Valentine. And actually, for this other one that Naruto wrote, I'm using another song from the same band. If you know them you can probably guess easily enough.


	15. Far away

Chidori

Chapter 15 – Far away

He woke up with the impression that he was dead. He couldn't be alive, could he? Not feeling like this, it wasn't possible… But then he realized he was, unfortunately, still alive...

He opened his eyes and it took some time to focus on the room around him. It was his bedroom. How in the hell had he ended up here? The last thing he remembered was… Actually he couldn't really remember anything. Memories were mixing up together with hallucinations and dreams, fantasies and blurry parties and raves…

"How are you feeling?"

Someone was talking to him. Naruto. Of course… His bloodshot dark eyes focused on the blond who was now standing in the doorframe with a glass of water in his hands. Sasuke knew he was worried and angry at the same time, but the tone of his voice was cold. Well, Sasuke couldn't blame him, he couldn't ever blame him… Besides, wasn't it his birthday? Shit, Sasuke thought…

"What… what time is it?" He asked in a voice so rasp and broken that he couldn't even recognize it himself.

"You slept for like two days…" Naruto sighed and came to sit beside him on the bed, "It's 8 pm now."

"What day?" he asked, searching Naruto's eyes.

"Monday…"

"Fuck…"

So it was his birthday. Naruto misunderstood this; he probably thought Sasuke was just shocked at having slept for so long.

"Here, you're completely dehydrated…" he handed him the water.

Sasuke suddenly realize how thirsty he was. His throat was so dry that it was burning. He tried to sit up and winced at the pain – his whole body hurt so badly – and Naruto helped him. He started drinking the whole glass of water, he just couldn't stop. And even then he wanted more.

"Wait, Sasuke, you know you can't drink fast like that…"

Naruto was right… Shit, now he felt nauseous. He put the glass down on the bedside table and tried to get up to go to the bathroom, but he lost his balance and fell on his knees.

"Ah…" he gasped at the pain and fell to his side.

His knees were so damn painful… he must've gotten hurt while he was fucked up. He did remember something about falling…

Naruto took his arms and helped him up in one swift movement. Maybe Naruto had gotten stronger, or Sasuke had gotten even lighter – it was probably the latter.

Naruto helped him to the bathroom, and there Sasuke threw up in the toilet, Naruto holding his hair.

"Leave me alone," Sasuke muttered when he was done. "Please…"

Naruto stood and went to lean in the doorframe, but he didn't leave the bathroom. Sasuke sighed shakily, his whole body was trembling actually, and he got up painfully. He turned on the water in the sink, and proceeded to rinse his face and mouth and brush his teeth. Even that was though.

"Do you think there's anything broken? Does your body hurt?" Naruto asked him.

"No, you shouldn't worry about me…"

"That's a funny one," the blond chuckled dryly. "I shouldn't worry about you… when I find you passed out on the floor, bleeding and so fucked up you couldn't even reach the damn bed!"

Sasuke just remained silent, still leaning on the sink for support. Naruto put his arm around him and led him to the living room.

"I can walk on my own," he muttered and pulled away from Naruto.

"Just sit on the couch, I need to change the sheets," the blond muttered.

Sasuke let himself fall on the couch and hugged his knees; he was so cold… And he was unable to stop his body from trembling so much.

After Naruto had changed the sheets, he brought him another glass of water and a blanket. Sasuke took only a few sips of water this time, and he crawled under the warm blanket, still trembling – even his teeth were chattering a little.

"Na… Naruto I…"

"You're sorry, I know," the blond sighed, sitting at the opposite side of the couch, "but it's not enough Sasuke…"

"No, I… I wanted to…" damn this trembling and chattering thing, he cursed inwardly, it was so hard to talk properly, but Naruto waited and he continued, "I wanted to get you something… but I don't… I don't have anything for your birthday…"

Naruto's blue eyes widened slightly and he looked surprised that Sasuke had remembered his birthday at all. But then his expression darkened even more and he glanced away.

"That's the least of my fucking worries, Sasuke, to be honest."

Sasuke was trembling so much that it was getting hard to control. He felt so anxious; he was having withdrawal symptoms. If he could just take some heroin… he had some left in the bottom of his last drawer, he was certain. If he could only get there…

He got up and started walking towards the bedroom, the blanket still wrapped tightly around him.

"What are you doing?" Naruto asked, frowning.

"I… I won't be long…"

He closed the door and hurriedly went to open his drawer. He removed all the things that were hiding the lower compartment. He pulled out the large rubber band that he tied around his arm, then the syringe with the drug. Sitting on the floor and leaning against the bed, he injected it through his veins and took a few deep breaths; he was already feeling better.

He quickly cleaned it up as much as possible for now and put the material back in its hiding place. He closed the drawer and just leaned back against the bed for a moment. The trembling had almost completely stopped, and he felt himself relax.

When he returned to the other room to sit beside Naruto, the latter was glancing away, avoiding Sasuke's gaze.

"You feeling better now?"

"Naruto…"

"I don't wanna hear it. It makes you feel better now, but in a few hours you'll need it again, and again and again, and then you'll make an overdose and you'll…" his voice broke as he stared at Sasuke with tears in his blue eyes, "Sasuke I can't… I can't do this anymore."

The raven could only stare back and search for his words. Search for words that wouldn't come because his mind was completely clouded by the drug.

"I just can't… see you like this anymore. I can't help you if you won't let me! And I just can't do this anymore I can't…" he repeated over and over again, and Sasuke could only stare back into those big, deep blue eyes holding all the sadness in the world, "I just… I can't see you slowly killing yourself anymore! You're dying slowly, and I feel so fucking helpless! I'm just watching and I'm not helping you because I can't…"

The silence between them was heavy. Sasuke's mind was hanging in between the careless bliss the drug was providing him, and the despair and sadness the situation with Naruto was bringing him.

Naruto's cell broke the silence.

"Hey Oto-san," he answered it, glancing away from Sasuke, "Thanks … Yeah I'm fine I just…" he sniffed, "I have allergies… It can start at any time in life, to-san … Just relaxin'… It's no big deal … All right I gotta go … 'Kay, thanks … Bye, love you too."

He hung up, threw his cell on the low table and put his head in his hands. Sasuke felt sad that Naruto had to lie to his parents. They wanted to know if their son was having fun for his birthday, if he was all right, and of course the truth was he wasn't all right. And it was Sasuke's entire fault.

Sasuke opened his mouth to talk, to say something, anything, but Naruto's cell buzzed again.

"Damn it," Naruto muttered, looking at the caller id, then answered it," What is it, Kiba? … Oh, right, well thanks … No I'm not going out … No … Look I don't want to … Just leave it alone Kiba … Look I'll just … Another time maybe … Okay … Have fun with that," Naruto chuckled lightly, "Bye man."

He hung up and glanced sideways at Sasuke, "Kiba's totally crazy about his new girlfriend Sarah…" he explained.

"Good for him," Sasuke muttered.

There was a silence, then Naruto took a deep breath, "Last year, we promised to each other that we'd stay together no matter what…"

Sasuke glanced away.

"I'm starting to think," Naruto whispered," I'm gonna have to break that promise…"

Again, Sasuke didn't reply. He could only watch as Naruto walked up to the door and picked up his black jacket.

"I'm just… gonna go for a walk," he muttered and then he left.

- Chidori -

He walked outside in the cold rain, with his hands in his pockets and his black hood covering his blond hair. When cars passed him they splashed him but he didn't care. He hadn't even brought his IPod so he had nothing but the sound of his dark thoughts playing over and over in his head like a broken record. Perhaps now was the time to follow the advice he had given Takumi while they were on tour; break up because this relationship was hurting him way too much.

His fingers almost unconsciously reached for the chain necklace around his neck, and as tears rolled down his cheeks, mixing with the rain, he pulled on it. It broke easily enough, and first he considered throwing it in the street, but then he changed his mind and shoved it in his pocket.

He didn't know for how long he walked, but somehow his feet had taken him to Yoshi and Ino's place. He sat outside on the sidewalk, the rain still pouring but it didn't matter; he was already completely soaked anyway…

"Hey man, are you okay?" a familiar voice asked and Naruto looked up, "Naruto? What are you doing here? Are you okay?"

It was Yoshikazu. Naruto hadn't even heard him walk closer. He didn't come from the apartment complex' entrance though. He was carrying his guitar on his back, and he looked tired and eager to get home. He offered a hand and Naruto took it.

"Let's go inside," he said and Naruto nodded and followed him.

"I'm gonna give you a towel and dry clothes," he said before going to his room.

A few seconds later he returned with a pile of clothes and gave them to Naruto.

"Ino's sleeping," he whispered, "but if we're quiet we shouldn't wake her up. You can go in the bathroom."

"Thanks," he muttered.

When he was changed into Yoshikazu's grey sweat pants and blue t-shirt, with a towel around his neck, he sat at the small table with a cup of tea in front of him.

"You're so nice to me…" he mused, "you know, the first time I met you, I thought you were a douche bag."

"I was acting like one," he shrugged and ran his fingers through his short black hair. "So why were you sitting alone in front of my apartment in the middle of the night?"

Naruto just watched in silence as Yoshikazu went to put his soaked clothes in the dryer. But the apartment was so small that even if he whispered his answer, Yoshikazu would probably hear him anyway. But he didn't know what to answer. Yoshikazu came back to the kitchen and also poured himself some tea, before sitting in front of Naruto.

"This is really good," Naruto whispered after taking a sip.

"It's Ino's…"

A pause, then Naruto leaned closer, "I think I… just broke up with Sasuke."

"You think?" he frowned, "What happened?"

"Well he was really fucked up, as always these days…"

"Yeah…?" Yoshi encouraged him.

"And I told him that I couldn't do it anymore," Naruto said, his voice barely a whisper.

"What'd he say?"

"Nothing… he never says anything to me. It takes all my efforts, all my determination and patience, just to get him to talk to me," Naruto said, his voice getting louder, "and lately it's just getting worst and worst. I don't know what to do."

"Fuck," Yoshi whispered, "well I'm not really good advice. Ino's just my second girlfriend, and I really hope I never have to break up with her. But with Kimi I had to do it, and it was hard…"

"How did you do it?" Naruto sniffed, swallowing his tears.

"Well it reminds me of what you're going through right now, that's why I can understand you and I know it really sucks," he sighed, leaning back in his seat. "It was a little different though because she was cheating on me, so that was a pretty good reason for breaking up. I just told her in person, and the next day she was gone."

"Just like that?" Naruto whispered.

"Yeah," he replied. "But we were still friends. She kept saying she thought of me more as a brother, which is kinda weird but, it's Kimi we're talking about after all…"

"Yeah," Naruto chuckled.

Yoshi continued, "And then we met Takumi and Hiroshi, and then she started dating Takumi, and I knew the same thing would happen… Anyway, I'm really glad Takumi finally broke up with her; except it sucks that he left the band… Because now there's no more band."

"It's official?" Naruto asked sadly.

"Yup… Orochimaru fired our sorry asses. End of the contract, no new contract…"

Naruto frowned, "Did you just come back from working somewhere?" he glanced at the guitar still lying on the floor next to the door.

"Yeah," he said, "I still have some contacts around here. I got a job at a bar as a back up guitarist… It doesn't pay well but it's better than nothing. And after my shift I played in the subway a little…"

"Man that sucks," Naruto sighed, suddenly feeling like a jerk for caring only about his own problems.

"It's not so bad," he made a little smile. "Besides, Ino's still on the contract with you guys. I'm pretty sure they're gonna break it soon, but they'll have to give her a compensation salary or something. And her dad is so glad she's returning to school that he's sending her money to help. Man that girl can draw beautifully!" he exclaimed, his dark eyes shining as he talked about his girlfriend, "I'm pretty sure she's gonna be a really famous designer one day! So yeah, we'll be fine…"

"Cool," Naruto smiled.

"Anyway you can crash here for tonight," he yawned. "Sorry we don't have much place, but at least there's a couch… You can figure it out tomorrow, whatever you wanna do…"

"Thanks man I appreciate."

"No problem! It's not like I was gonna let you sleep outside in the rain."

"Good night, Yoshi."

"Night, Naruto!" he said and then he disappeared in his room and closed the door.

- Chidori -

"Are you really sure about this Ino?" Naruto asked, worried, "it's so damn itchy!"

"It's almost over and then I'll rinse!" she smiled as she took a look at his hair.

On Tuesday afternoon, Yoshikazu was gone to work and Naruto and Ino were left alone, and the blonde girl had insisted to do his hair. She had cut them a little bit, keeping the same style but just a bit shorter, so that now his bangs were just above his eyes, and his longer hair at the nape of his neck. And now she was bleaching them.

"Are you sure you shouldn't rinse now?" he asked again.

"I know what I'm doing Naruto!" she laughed. "I've done this a thousand times to my own hair, and to Temari, and some other girls from school…"

"I thought you were a natural blonde?" he asked, confused.

"I am! And so are you. But sometimes nature needs a little help!"

"…Right."

"All right come here I'll rinse you now," she chuckled as she waited by the sink.

He bent over and put his head in the sink, feeling very uncomfortable and hoping she would hurry up.

Thankfully, it turned out it didn't take that long. Twenty five minutes later, his hair was rinsed, dried and styled, and Naruto had to admit he was impressed.

"It looks great," he grinned.

"I'm so glad you like it!" she exclaimed, still placing some strands of his hair.

Where he'd had red highlights now it was golden blond, and the rest of his hair was a paler, shinier blond. And the cut was great too, with the stylish messy look he could never do as well as her.

"Thank you," he hugged her and lifted her up in the air, making her laugh.

His cell phone suddenly rang and he searched it everywhere before finally realizing it was still with his pile of clothes in the bathroom.

He picked it up, but missed the call.

"Who was it?" Ino asked, curious.

"Deidara," he said, "I'm gonna call him back."

"Who's Deidara?" she asked but Naruto had already dialled the number and pressed the phone to his ear.

"Hey," Deidara answered, "we got a problem."

"What?" Naruto frowned as he made his way outside; his cell phone wasn't working well inside that building.

"Kakuzu's been fired…"

"What! Why?" he clutched his cell phone nervously.

"Kabuto just found out Kakuzu's been stealing money from him for a while now…"

"Fuck…" he sighed, "Can we still do the video?"

"Well yeah I guess but it will be weird without our drummer…"

"What if I can get another drummer?" Naruto asked; he'd just had an idea.

"That'd be awesome! But can he learn his part for tomorrow?"

"Yeah I'll go practice with him right now," Naruto answered.

"Awesome! So tomorrow at 9 am, you know where the studio is?"

"Yeah we used the same for most of Chidori's videos."

"And your drummer friend will be there too?"

"Yeah I'll just call you if there's any problem, but it should be fine," Naruto replied, shivering a little in just his light t-shirt.

"Awesome! Art is a bang man!"

"Sure is," Naruto agreed before hanging up, even though he had no idea what that meant.

He didn't lose any more time and dialled Hiroshi's number.

"Hello?"

"Hey, I need your help," Naruto went straight to the point.

"…Okay?"

"It's kinda complicated… can I talk to you in person?"

"Uh… sure! You can come to my place if you want. Takumi's here though."

"I don't care… hey do you have instruments at your place that we could practice with?"

"Yeah! Why?"

"Just checking…"

Hiroshi, clearly confused, told him his address anyway, and they hung up. Naruto returned inside to get changed into his own clothes, and he thanked Ino warmly for her hospitality and for his hair, and he also told her to thank Yoshikazu for him.

"Is everything okay?" Ino asked, worried, as he was about to walk out the door.

He glanced back at her, "Yeah there's just something important I need to do…"

"Okay… well take care!"

"You too!"

He closed the door and hurried to the nearest subway station, repeating Hiroshi's address in his head like a mantra.

Thirty minutes later he was standing in front of a rather big house, and he was confused because it was the right address, but Hiroshi had told him a thousand times that his place was small and crappy…

He knocked anyway, and a tall and fat guy opened the door, a cigarette between his lips.

"What do you want?"

"I… must have the wrong address… I was looking for my friend Hiroshi?" He asked hesitantly, and a bit intimidated.

"In the basement," the man stepped forward to let him in, and pointed towards the stairs.

"Thank you!" Naruto nodded slightly and hurried downstairs.

The basement was indeed rather small; actually it reminded Naruto of the basement and his bedroom at his parents' place. There was a single bed in the corner, which Naruto supposed was Hiroshi's, a couch, drums and two guitars, and a small bathroom. Hiroshi and Takumi were sitting on the couch and smoking a joint as they watched videos on Hiroshi's laptop.

"Hey Naruto! Welcome to my beautiful basement!" Hiroshi said sarcastically, before getting up from the couch and smiling at him.

"Hey," Takumi said, his eyes leaving the computer screen only one second to glance at him.

"Hey! How are you doing?" Naruto asked; he hadn't seen him in a while.

"Better…" he said weakly. "Just as long as I don't see her again…"

"Taboo subject!" Hiroshi protested, glancing back at his friend, "Don't talk about her!"

"Sorry," Takumi laughed lightly; he was clearly high.

"So… you need my help?" Hiroshi asked Naruto.

"Yes!" he said firmly. "This is gonna sound really weird, but I'm making a song with the band Akatsuki…"

"I heard of them," Hiroshi frowned, "so why d'you need me?"

"Well their stupid thief of a drummer just got fired…"

"Ah, I see," he smiled, "I'm all ears…"

Naruto told him about his problems with Sasuke, about the song he wrote, and about the band Akatsuki, Orochimaru's proposition, and the video. Hiroshi listened to him carefully, and Takumi seemed to be only half-listening and half-watching his videos.

"Well I sure am interested," Hiroshi nodded thoughtfully, some long strands of raven hair falling into his face. "I mean I'm unemployed right now, all thanks to my stupid emo friend back there…"

"Fuck you Hiroshi," Takumi replied on an even tone.

"I love you too," the long-haired guy smiled at him, and then he turned to look at Naruto again. "The timing is kind of short, but I'll do what I can. I'm guessing you want to practice right now?"

One of the guitars was Takumi's, and the other was Hiroshi's – he quickly explained that he'd once played but that it wasn't really his thing. So Hiroshi sat at his drums, and Naruto picked up his guitar and started playing. At some point Takumi decided to just pick up his guitar as well and he started playing too, following Naruto's lead.

Of course Naruto focused on having Hiroshi learn his part as fast as possible. But after a few hours they ended up just having fun, and Takumi and Naruto sang the lyrics together. It didn't sound too good, though, and they ended up laughing most of the time.

"See that's why the Black Souls couldn't survive without Kimi!" Takumi exclaimed at some point, "I can't sing, Hiro can't sing, Yoshi can't sing…"

"Don't talk about her!" Hiroshi interrupted him.

"Right, oops," Takumi chuckled.

"But seriously I feel bad for you guys," Naruto said sadly. "Couldn't you just try to find another singer?"

Hiroshi shrugged, "I don't think so. Yoshi's out anyway. As for us we'll just try to meet some more musicians and maybe start another band… or something."

"What about Kimiko?" Naruto asked, "I'm sorry I know it's the taboo subject," he teased, glancing at Takumi, "but I'm just curious."

"Well she lives alone now obviously, since Takumi's here with me," Hiroshi shrugged. "I don't know how she's gonna do it. Plus all that dope is really expensive…"

"Not to mention dangerous," Naruto said darkly, thinking about how Sasuke had become…

"All right I wanna practice a couple more times!" Hiroshi exclaimed, breaking the sudden awkward silence. "By the way, awesome song!"

"Thanks," Naruto grinned as he started playing guitar once again.

- Chidori -

Orochimaru actually came on set for the shooting of their video. He was apparently very enthusiastic about this little project. He even offered Hiroshi the opportunity to sign in as Akatsuki's new drummer, saying they would never take Kakuzu back anyway after what he had done. Hiroshi, having no other option and needing the money, accepted the offer.

After this little matter was discussed and put aside, it was time to get ready to shoot. There was a famous director, a team of stylists, and Kabuto and Konan were also there as technicians to make sure their singing would match the lyrics and other technical stuff – Naruto wasn't really sure why they were there actually.

Naruto had slept at Hiroshi's place – Takumi sleeping on the couch and Naruto sleeping on the single bed with Hiroshi, it hadn't been too comfortable but Hiroshi hadn't complained at all… He had also taken a shower there and borrowed clothes from him. But it didn't matter because the team of stylists did his hair again, put some makeup on his face, and gave him a new outfit to wear.

So for the video Naruto was clad in skin tight black jeans, a black and red striped t-shirt, a red belt around his hips and to complete that look - and to make sure he looked emo enough - a massive amount of eyeliner around his eyes. At least they had left his hair quite natural, and it was similar to the way Ino had styled it the day before.

He was watching as some technicians were setting up the green screen, and he jumped out of his skin when someone slapped his ass.

Turning around, he sighed and smiled when he saw it was Hiroshi. "You scared me!"

"Sorry, it was too tempting. You look hot," Hiroshi smiled appreciatively.

"Kiba would say that I look emo," Naruto chuckled sadly; it felt kind of weird to be preparing to shoot a video without his real band mates.

The other guys had similar outfits; all in dark colours with eyeliner and their hair loose. Even Deidara wasn't wearing his hair in his usual ponytail; it was sleek and framing his face. But Naruto thought this was a cool look because Deidara, Hidan and Hiroshi all had long and loose hair, and it made them look like a true metal band.

The concept for the video was simple enough, but Naruto liked it. They were just playing and the green screen would be changed for a city as a background. So it would look like they were actually playing from a high building or something. As the lead singer, Yahiko would get the more close ups, but he was followed closely by Naruto and Deidara, and then Hiroshi and Hidan.

There were also some scenes in the video in which Deidara would be pretending to stand on the edge of the building, about to jump to kill himself. And with the wind effects it would look pretty realistic - or so they were told.

As the director for the video told them all these details the new formed band nodded enthusiastically.

"Let's do this!" Deidara exclaimed.

"Yeah!" Naruto agreed, smiling.

They all took place behind their instruments and waited for the music to start. Glancing at Orochimaru Naruto noticed he had a small mysterious smile on his lips, and it made him shiver a bit. He brushed it off and focused on the music. He needed to collaborate with Orochimaru if he wanted this video to be a success…

So he picked up his guitar and started playing with the band as they started shooting the music video.

TBC


	16. Falling apart

Chidori

Chapter 16 – Falling apart

It took two days to finish shooting the video. They had to make a lot of different versions so that every band member could have close ups, and they also elaborated different scenes with Deidara's committing suicide act. They decided to add more scenes with Naruto and Yahiko as well. And finally, they had decided to go outside to shoot some scenes in the streets.

The job of the band was done, anyway, all was left was the editing. But Orochimaru announced that he had already sent the demo to various radio stations, and that they would start playing it very soon. To celebrate, the band decided to go party.

Naruto declined the invitation, though. He liked these guys a lot – except Hidan, he found him a little bit too freaky – and in any other circumstances he would have happily partied with them, but not tonight. He hadn't seen Sasuke in days, and the latter hadn't even tried to call him. Well, Naruto hadn't tried to contact him either, so he supposed he wasn't much better.

"Naruto wait!" Hiroshi called after him as he walked down the street, "Where're you going?"

"I think I'm gonna go home," he said hesitantly.

"Are you sure?" Hiroshi frowned, worried.

"Yeah… I need to see Sasuke one last time before I take my decision. Besides, all my stuff is still there, so…"

"Do you want me to come with you?" he asked, and Naruto smiled.

"No I'm gonna be fine. You go party with them. They're waiting for you," he glanced back at the studio entrance, where the rest of Akatsuki were indeed waiting and staring at them – especially Deidara. "You know I actually wanted to introduce you to Deidara when I met him. I don't know I thought that you guys would make a cute couple," he shrugged.

"Playing match makers now?" Hiroshi teased him.

"I guess I am!" Naruto shrugged again helplessly.

"Call me if there's anything wrong all right?"

"Yeah," he nodded, and then he watched as Hiroshi joined the others.

Deidara smiled and put his hand on Hiroshi's shoulder briefly as they all started walking in the opposite direction, probably going to a bar nearby or something.

Naruto's smile faded as he turned around and continued his way towards the subway station. He put his hands in his pockets and tried to calm himself – he was so damn anxious about seeing Sasuke. But he couldn't just escape his problems forever…

He let his gaze wander to the books and magazines displayed in the window of a store, and he stopped short when he saw the title and picture of one of the magazines. He went inside the store and picked it up; glancing around him quickly to make sure no one had recognized him. The front page was a picture of Sasuke and Kimiko laughing together as they walked in the streets of Tokyo – but that was nothing new, Naruto was used to that – except the title was strange: _"Chidori's heartthrob singer Uchiha Sasuke bisexual?"_

Naruto's mind was full of scenarios and possibilities for what the article could possibly say, but nothing could prepare him to what he actually saw as he flipped the pages. There was a large picture of Sasuke kissing Kimiko passionately in a night club, and on the next page there was a smaller picture, but this one showing Sasuke kissing _Suigetsu _with an equally intense passion apparently…

"What the fuck," Naruto muttered to himself, frowning.

He read the little text under the title: _"In a pretty heated night out in Tokyo, Uchiha Sasuke was spotted in an intense lip lock with ex-girlfriend Kimi-chan, but also with band mate Suigetsu…"_

"Are you gonna buy that?" the cashier asked him on a bored tone.

He put his hood over his head to make sure he wouldn't be recognized, muttered an apology as he put the magazine back on the shelves and hurriedly returned outside.

A few tears rolled down his cheeks, and Naruto wondered just how many people Sasuke had kissed without telling him…

When he finally got home his stress disappeared, simply because Sasuke wasn't there. As usual, there was no note, nothing, to tell him where he was. Then again Naruto hadn't left any note either…

He sighed as he went to take a soothing shower, and then he put on clean boxers and went to bed. He was just so exhausted; he hadn't slept very well on Yoshikazu's couch, or in the single bed next to Hiroshi… So he fell asleep rather quickly.

- Chidori -

Sasuke wanted to die. His body was probably screwed up beyond repair by now anyway. His voice would probably have an ugly and rasp sound for the rest of his life. And he was a song writer that couldn't even write anymore.

He was at Orochimaru's place – he didn't even know where he had been the other nights. He couldn't remember. But right now he was at Orochimaru's place and Takumi was with him.

"I fucking hate her," he said as he downed one more shooter. "Thanks," he told the barmaid who worked for Orochimaru. "Can I have two more please?"

"You fucking hate her?" Sasuke repeated as he leaned back against the nearest wall.

Takumi downed his two shooters and came to stand in front of him.

"Kimi," he said, "I hate her."

Sasuke tilted his head to the side and with blurry eyes he glanced behind Takumi at his friends Kiba and Suigetsu. They were laughing together, having a beer contest apparently… Those two were always laughing, they were always having fun…

Sasuke wasn't having fun. He was a pathetic guy who had lost everything that was precious to him – Naruto. And now he was left with only his addictions.

He had just taken some heroin though, so the desire to die was less strong. It was slowly fading, replaced by the usual carelessness. Except it wasn't enough. He needed a stronger dose every time, and now he was out of dope. And he had no idea where Kabuto or Kimi were…

"You're not even listening to me," Takumi slurred as he sat on the floor against the wall.

Sasuke let his body slide down the wall to sit beside him, "Sorry… what… what were you saying?"

"I hate Kimi but I love her at the same time… it's just too hard to stop thinking about her."

"But…" Sasuke tried to articulate his sentence properly, "but you… she's the one that cheated… all those times… so you should… you should just…"

Okay so that didn't work.

"What?" Takumi laughed. "You're not making any sense."

"I like this song," Sasuke closed his eyes as he listened to the rock music playing. He had no idea what it was, but at that moment he just felt like getting lost in it.

"So how's it going with Naruto?" Takumi asked him.

He also felt like ignoring that question.

He opened his eyes slowly and locked eyes with Takumi – those beautiful hazel eyes. He was pretty, smart, passionate, an artist and a musician, so what the hell was he doing always chasing after the same girl? He could have any girl…

He tried to articulate proper sentences this time, to tell Takumi all this, and for once it seemed to work.

"You really think so?" he asked, his eyes widening.

"Yeah, and I don't compliment people often," Sasuke chuckled.

"Well you too, you could have any guy," Takumi said sincerely.

"I don't want just any guy…" Sasuke muttered sadly, glancing away, "I want Naruto but… I just got so much shit in my life, I guess it's better if he leaves me, and I guess I should just die or something. No one would miss me…"

"I'd miss you!" Takumi exclaimed.

"You're just drunk," Sasuke's lips twitched into a little smile.

Takumi laughed a little and then he remained quiet for a little while. As for Sasuke, he felt more and more depressed. Stupid drug wasn't even working anymore… He felt ashamed, he felt like he was just some kind of shitty loser ass boyfriend not even able to appreciate what he'd had… He'd had the greatest guy in the world… how had he become like this? How had he let this happen…?

"Are you okay?" a familiar voice asked him.

He realized he was crying. Not bothering to wipe his tears, he looked up and met Orochimaru's snake-like eyes.

"Hey," he said in a weak, broken voice.

How humiliating and pathetic. This was his boss, and he let him see him like this… But Orochimaru smiled and ordered something at the bar.

"I think you need a drink," he told Sasuke.

"I need more than just a drink man," he muttered more to himself, but Orochimaru heard it.

Takumi was pretty much ignoring them apparently, staring drunkenly at some girls dancing nearby.

"Here," Orochimaru offered a hand, but Sasuke, trying to gather what little dignity he had left, stood on his own.

Orochimaru just smiled and pushed the drink in his direction on the bar counter. He took a sip of his, and waited for Sasuke to do the same.

"Thanks," he whispered and just emptied the cocktail without even tasting it.

He figured some alcohol couldn't possibly make much difference at this point.

Orochimaru was talking to him, but Sasuke didn't even know what he was saying. He was nodding his head slightly once in a while so that his boss would think he was listening, but after a little while he stopped doing even that, and Orochimaru stopped talking and just smiled.

Sasuke's legs felt so heavy, actually his whole body felt so damn _heavy_. He leaned on the bar counter, feeling really dizzy all of a sudden. He needed to sit, or lie down somewhere…

"You seem tired," Orochimaru told him, "come on I'll show you where you can sleep."

He felt an arm around him, and he let himself be dragged towards a bedroom. Sleep, yes, that sounded good… He fell on the bed, and heard the sound of a door closing. Everything was so blurry, the faint light, the fancy furniture and decorations, the man sitting on the bed next to him – Orochimaru.

He frowned slightly and moaned, unable to find his voice, as he tried to sit up, a last spark of lucidity in his mind telling him that he should really try to get away. But simply fighting to keep his eyes open was taking all of the energy he had left.

He felt cold hands crawl under his t-shirt, and again he tried to get away. This time he actually made a move towards the other side of the bed, but Orochimaru's hands encircled his body and kept him firmly in the middle of the bed.

"Where do you think you're going?" he whispered before leaning closer to kiss his lips.

Sasuke turned his head, but then he felt even dizzier. He moaned as he tried to push him away. But he was so damn weak…

"…the fuck're you doin'?" he breathed, he couldn't even speak louder.

"Shh just relax Sasuke…"

- Chidori -

Naruto growled when he was woken up by the sound of his cell phone ringing. He felt like ignoring it at first – it was 2:30 am for Christ's sake – but then he realized maybe it was Sasuke. So he answered it without looking at the caller id.

"Hello?" he said in a sleepy voice.

"Naruto?" a familiar voice said urgently, it was Takumi.

"What is it?" he frowned, sitting up.

"I'm sorry I'm kind of drunk, but I'm really worried about Sasuke and I think you should come here."

Naruto was already getting up and looking for his clothes, "What's going on? Where are you?"

"At Orochimaru's… Listen, there are rumours that Orochimaru does that sometimes… And I didn't believe it but… I think he gave some GHB to Sasuke earlier and now… I think he's in his bedroom. I tried to go help him but Kabuto freakin' hit me. That asshole hit me!"

"Fuck… All right Takumi calm down," Naruto was putting on his jeans, but with just one arm it wasn't easy, "I'm on my way all right? Call Hiroshi!"

"I already called him; he's also on his way…"

"Good. Thanks for looking after him and calling me," he said then hung up. "Fuck, fuck, fuck…" he repeated.

He got dressed as quickly as possible and ran outside towards his car. He didn't care about the speed limits; he just drove as fast as he could. He was glad he had gone to at least one of Orochimaru's parties, so that he could remember the way and the address now.

Thankfully he didn't get arrested because of his crazy driving, and he parked his car as soon as he recognized the street. He jumped out and ran towards the entrance. He only stopped when he saw Takumi sitting on the cold ground in front of the house. He didn't look too good and his nose was bleeding.

"Takumi!" he exclaimed.

"Naruto!" he got up and hugged Naruto. "Hiroshi's not here yet, we should wait for him…"

"No," Naruto said as he pulled away, "Just tell me where Sasuke is."

But as he said this another car parked in the street. Deidara got out of the driver seat and Hiroshi followed him.

"Are you okay?" Hiroshi asked Takumi urgently.

"Yeah I'm fine… we should go look for Sasuke…"

"Let's go," Naruto agreed.

They followed Takumi inside in silence. It was only broken by Hiroshi and Deidara briefly.

"You don't have to if you don't want to…" Hiroshi said.

"It's okay I want to help," Deidara replied.

Naruto was glad they were all there. The more they were, the better. If they had proof they could bring down the company. Naruto just hoped it wasn't too late for Sasuke…

Takumi led them to a hallway and a door guarded by Kabuto. The latter's face paled when he saw the four determined guys coming his way.

"W-what is it guys?" he stuttered.

"You might want to step aside now Kabuto," Hiroshi growled clenching his fists – which didn't go unnoticed by the silver-haired man.

He cleared his throat loudly, "Nonsense! Orochimaru-sama only wanted to make sure he was okay! Actually, he…"

Hiroshi punched him hard in the face, and Kabuto fell straight to the floor. Orochimaru's assistant had obviously shouted those words as a warning for his boss…

Naruto tried to open the door fervently, but it was locked. But then he stepped back as the door opened to the snake-like man he hated even more now.

"What's going on here?" he asked innocently. He was wearing all of his clothes and nothing seemed off about his appearance.

Naruto pushed him and ran to the bed, where an unconscious Sasuke was lying down. He only had his shirt off, so Naruto prayed that meant nothing had happened…

"You asshole, what did you do to him?" He asked angrily, turning to look at Orochimaru.

"Nothing," he smiled, "it's just like Kabuto said. I was making sure he was all right."

"By undressing him?" he shouted.

"He already had his shirt off during the whole party. You young men tend to do that often at parties, don't you Deidara?"

"Fuck you," Deidara spat.

"I'd heard rumours," Takumi said hesitantly, but Hiroshi standing by his side made him more confident, "and now I know it's true…"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Orochimaru was still smiling pleasantly.

"You know perfectly well what he's talking about," Hiroshi replied.

"Oh, perhaps, but it's too bad," the snake-like man said, "I see nothing that can be proved here…"

Naruto clenched his fist and, gathering all of his strength, he punched Orochimaru hard in the face. The older man was sent flying to the floor, and when he looked up at Naruto, he definitely wasn't smiling anymore.

"You're fired," he muttered darkly.

"How convenient," Naruto replied, glaring at him with murderous intent, "I was gonna quit anyway!"

"Let's get out of here Naruto," Deidara urged him.

The blond nodded and picked Sasuke up in his arms, and then he followed the others outside.

Takumi followed him and helped him by opening the door on the passenger's side of his car, and Naruto put Sasuke in the seat.

"Thank you," he said sincerely.

Takumi nodded slightly, "No problem. You gonna be okay?"

"Yeah, you guys go, I'll take care of him. Thank you so much for your help," he said as he glanced at Takumi but also at Deidara and Hiroshi standing slightly behind.

The three of them nodded sadly and then they left with Deidara's car. As for Naruto, during the whole drive home, he never stopped crying.

- Chidori -

He felt so cold, so weak and his body hurt everywhere. Every bone ached… Even opening his eyes was painful. His throat burned so much…

His vision slowly became clearer. He shivered and pulled the blankets up to his shoulders for warmth. Narrowing his eyes slightly, he saw Naruto leaning in the doorframe with his arms crossed. He looked tired and worn out, but determined and sad at the same time. As he slowly glanced down Sasuke saw Naruto's orange school bag as well as their black suitcase on the floor. He also realized the room seemed much cleaner now – of course, if Naruto's stuff was gone…

So he was leaving…

How… how did this happen?

He tried to talk but nothing came out. He tried to clear his throat but it ended up sounding more like a little pained moan.

"One more hour and I was bringing you to the hospital," Naruto informed him coldly.

He ran his tan fingers through his hair shakily. His hair, something about it was different… It was shorter, paler… and something else was off about his appearance too…

His necklace, the one Sasuke had given him a year ago, and that he had been wearing everyday since, it wasn't around his neck anymore…

"I'm sick and tired of always picking you up when you're like this," he whispered, obviously fighting back tears. Sasuke could only look at him and listen. "I told you, I can't do this anymore. How many times did you kiss other people? How many times have you cheated on me? And being on drugs is not an excuse!" he exclaimed sadly. "And last night you almost got raped by Orochimaru!"

Sasuke frowned slightly; it brought back a faint memory…

"But I saved you on time," Naruto continued, his voice trembling. "But this has to stop. And this is very hard for me," he started crying and wiped his cheeks in frustration, "because I'm scared, I'm so fucking scared that… that you're gonna get hurt again, maybe even get killed or… I dunno but… I'm so scared Sasuke," he sighed shakily and closed his eyes, trying to calm himself. "But I have to go," he whispered. "I already quit the band. I'm sorry… it's over."

Sasuke's throat was now burning with a heavy lump and he felt like crying, but the tears wouldn't come. He tried to sit up, but he wasn't fast enough. He couldn't even do anything. He could only watch as Naruto was walking away, and it seemed to be in slow motion. It was just like a nightmare, except it was reality. The blond opened the door and glanced back at him from an angle in which he could barely see him, and his watery blue eyes were accusing him, as if saying, "Are you really just gonna let me go like this? Without even trying to make me change my mind, without even fighting for me?"

But Naruto didn't say anything; he just remained silent as they looked at each other one last time. And Sasuke stayed quiet too; he didn't know what to say, and even if he'd known he couldn't even talk.

And just like that, Naruto picked up his bag and suitcase, left his key of the apartment on the table and left, closing the door quietly behind him.

Sasuke's heart ached so much that he thought he was gonna die. For a moment he literally couldn't breathe anymore, and he fell from the bed as he tried to get up, and then he stumbled towards the window to open it. The cold air entered his apartment, and being in just his boxers he shivered and started trembling like crazy, but at least he started breathing again. It was still hard though, and standing was also way too much of an effort, so he fell back on the bed. His thirst was killing him. Glancing at the bedside table, he saw a glass full of water. He closed his eyes; he felt like crying again. Naruto had done everything he could to take care of him, until the very last moment. His body was shaking with sobs as he drank a few sips of water.

He put the glass down, unable to drink more for the moment, and he let his body fall down on the bed completely, trembling uncontrollably. His breathing was hard and painful, and his head as well as his entire body hurt so much. But all that was nothing compared to the _pain_ in his mind, in his heart – the emptiness.

He kept glancing at the door, as if hoping that suddenly Naruto would come back and run towards him, and hold him in his arms tightly, kiss his hair, crying, telling him that everything would be all right, that he couldn't just leave him like that…

But no, Naruto wasn't coming back. Sasuke calmed down a little – mostly because his body couldn't even find the energy to cry – and drank some more water, and then his eyes closed on their own and he fell asleep again.

TBC


	17. Addiction

Chidori

Chapter 17 – Addiction

He wasn't feeling any better when he woke up again on Saturday afternoon. He was freezing, and the first thing he did was close the window and turn on the heat. The second thing he did was take a shower. It took him most of his energy though – if he had any. He put on some sweats and, sick of constantly lying in his bed, went to the couch instead. He turned on both the television and his laptop, hoping that it would distract him from his dark thoughts about Naruto, if only a little bit…

Checking his emails, he saw that he had one from Haku – which he deleted without reading it – and one from Itachi. He clicked it and started reading.

_Sasuke,_

_Why aren't you answering your phone? Naruto's back to his parents' house, and he's spending the day with Sakura, but she didn't tell me anything else. I'm worried about you,_

_Please call me as soon as you get this,_

_Itachi_

Ah, Itachi… always so formal, Sasuke chuckled to himself. But he didn't want his brother to know that he was reduced to this state… just a stupid junkie…

He sighed and closed his laptop. So much for not thinking about Naruto…

He understood him all too well for leaving him – but why leave the band, too? Maybe, just like Takumi with Kimiko, Naruto couldn't even stand the sight of him anymore.

Suddenly he felt nauseous. He hurried to the bathroom and threw up again. Trembling and crying, he brushed his teeth and returned to the couch, pulling his too big sweater tighter around himself. On the music channel, they kept talking about an exclusive new video – by a band named Akatsuki – that would premiere in the evening. Sasuke had heard that name before; they also worked for Sound Records, he was certain.

Leaving it on that station, he went to get his cell and plugged it because the battery was dead.

His throat burned so much, and his mouth felt so dry, so he decided to try and drink a little bit of water. It was pretty much just his body moving on its own; survival instinct or whatever. He personally couldn't care less if he survived or not at this point…

It turned out he had tons of unread sms on his phone; Kiba, Suigetsu and Kimiko inviting him to various clubs and parties as usual, Itachi asking him if he was okay, and also Takumi and Hiroshi asking him pretty much the same thing. He didn't answer any of them, and neither did he listen to his voice mail.

He dropped his cell as his trembling intensified. He kept shivering, and he had some trouble breathing. Suddenly his mind was filled by only one thought, heroin… He needed it, and he needed it now. He went to fumble in his drawer frantically, but as he had thought, there was nothing left. Shit, he thought, the withdrawal symptoms were starting again, and it was very bad…

He stumbled his way back to the couch in the living room, picking up a blanket and wrapping it around his freezing body before sitting down.

He didn't know what time it was, but apparently it was evening, because they were finally showing the new music video they had been talking about all day… Orochimaru and Kabuto must have done a lot of promoting efforts for this one… Maybe they were trying to replace Chidori with this new Akatsuki band, since Sasuke wasn't writing anymore and Naruto had quit… he thought bitterly.

As he was listening unfocusedly at what the female host of the show was saying, his dark eyes widened as he caught one part of her sentence, and he listened to the rest, shocked.

"…entirely written by the former guitarist of Chidori, Uzumaki Naruto. Now Yahiko, please tell me, why do you think Naruto chose to work with your band particularly?"

The camera moved to a red-head with a lot of piercings, "Actually I think he was having some personal issues with his former band mates, and that he thought our style and sound fit well with his new project," he answered.

Obviously not all the band was present, because there was only another guy with long silver hair similar to Suigetsu's sitting beside him.

"Well, the song is already top charts on the radio, and everybody's so excited about the video premiere, do you have anything more to add before we watch it?"

Yahiko chuckled slightly, "Well, I'll just say that everything happened so fast that it's still all surreal to me. I just hope our new fans love the video as much as the song!" he exclaimed and the little crowd watching the interview cheered loudly.

Sasuke was still shaking badly, and every bone in his body ached, but he ignored his physical problems completely. His dark eyes were glued on the screen, his delicate black eyebrows frowning slightly.

Naruto was in the video. That's the first thing he noticed. He looked so perfect, the black makeup around his eyes and the bleach in his shorter hair making his deep blue eyes stand out even more – but then again Sasuke had always found Naruto's eyes to be the most beautiful he'd ever seen. Hiroshi was there too, Sasuke had recognized his long black hair and familiar face and style as he played the drums. Well, they had really done this behind everyone's back…

_I don't wanna stand beside you_

_I don't wanna try and feel the pain you're going through_

_Til the death you'll see this through_

_Cold sweats hallucinations_

_I wanna scream to show _

_The hell I'm going through_

_The addiction's taken you_

Naruto and the other blond guitarist were singing along with the red-head for some of the lines. The three of them were really intense, and the song really was great; with all the instruments mixing together to create a fast paced beat and the singer's voice slightly rasped but still deep. But what struck Sasuke were the lyrics, of course… Written by Naruto…

_Can you see me through bloodshot eyes?_

_Should I fight for what is right or let it die?_

_Now I'm choking on force fed lies_

_Do I fight or let it die?_

A single tear rolled down Sasuke's cheek but he didn't even notice. His eyes were wide opened and he was noticing every detail, whenever there was a close-up of his boyfriend – well, ex-boyfriend, he corrected himself darkly – he leaned slightly closer to the television screen, and without realizing it he was sitting at the edge of his seat.

_I will fight, one more fight_

_Don't break down in front of me_

_I will fight, name your price_

_I am not the enemy_

_I will try one last time_

_Are you listening to me?_

_I will fight, the last fight_

_I am not your enemy_

Naruto and the other guitarist were singing the chorus too. They were playing together side by side, but Yahiko as the singer was the one getting the most close-ups so far. But then the scenes changed, going from the band playing with the city background to the blond guitarist with long hair standing on the edge of a sky scraper, and then there were images of Naruto walking alone in the street with his hands in his pockets, he was walking very fast, as if escaping from something, or just trying to escape from himself… And then it was back to the band playing. The editing wasn't that well done, actually it seemed as if it had been done in a hurry, but the video in itself was good.

_Everyone is sick of caring_

_No silver lining on the cloud that covers you_

_Let it pour and soak you through_

_No hope just desperation_

_So sit and wait for death_

_And pray it takes you soon_

_The addiction's taken you_

_Can you see me through bloodshot eyes?_

_Should I fight for what is right or let it die?_

_Now I'm choking on force fed lies_

_Do I fight or let it die?_

_I will fight, one more fight_

_Don't break down in front of me_

_I will fight, name your price_

_I am not the enemy_

_I will try one last time_

_Are you listening to me?_

_I will fight, the last fight_

_I am not your enemy_

The next scenes consisted mostly of Naruto's guitar solo. Sasuke smiled to himself as more tears fell down his eyes. Sometimes the scenes changed to the two other guitarists, but it didn't matter; it was obvious Naruto was the more intense. He really was so talented… Of course Sasuke knew this was only a video and the song was pre-recorded, but still, he recognized Naruto's style throughout the intense solo…

_Can you feel me through bloodshot eyes?_

_Should I fight another night or let it die?_

_Now I'm choking on every lie_

_Do I fight or let it die?_

There was a brief scene where the other blond guy let himself fall from the building, and also Naruto running down the street in a helpless, almost scared, manner… And then it switched to the band literally playing in the middle of a dark alleyway – and Sasuke was sure they hadn't used a green screen for that one – for the final scene…

_I will fight, one more fight _

_Don't break down in front of me_

_I will fight, name your price_

_I am not the enemy_

_I will try one last time_

_Are you listening to me?_

_I will fight, the last fight_

_I am not your enemy_

_I am not your, not your enemy!_

_I am not your enemy_

The crowd was shown cheering and clapping at the end of the presentation of the video, and then the show cut to a commercial break. Sasuke leaned back in the couch and hugged his knees, crying and shaking uncontrollably again. It was mostly because his body craved the narcotics, but also because of his feelings for Naruto. They had been numbed by the drugs perhaps – all of his feelings had – but they were still there, they would never fade away… If only he could've been stronger, and none of this would've happened, and Naruto wouldn't have left him…

Suddenly he jumped as his cell phone rang. He hesitated, then picked it up and checked the caller id… it was Itachi.

"…H-hey…" it came out as a strangled whisper.

"Sasuke? Why didn't you answer me before?"

"I…" his trembling was only getting worst, and his throat was burning and so dry that it was hard to talk.

"I just saw the video Naruto made on tv," Itachi said.

Well damn, Sasuke thought, they must have diffused it on a very famous show… Orochimaru really had put a lot of money into this. Was his objective to disband Chidori…?

Well… Sasuke had done that on his own already…

"You know, I can put two and two together," Itachi continued, "this song talks about you?"

No shit… Sasuke thought darkly, but he didn't answer.

"Sasuke talk to me…"

If he started talking, he'd break down. And he really didn't want his older brother to see, or hear, how pathetic he'd become.

"All right that's it I'm coming to see you…"

"Don't," Sasuke whispered through the phone, "I'm… fine," he said, but his voice was telling otherwise even though he tried to control it.

"Don't do anything stupid. I'm on my way," Itachi said firmly and hung up.

It only became worst after that. Sasuke left the television on, but he was barely watching. His entire body hurt; his bones, his muscles… Everything ached so badly. The trembling was still as bad, and he was sweating, but so damn cold at the same time. He just couldn't find any comfortable position, sitting or lying down… it hurt all the same. His skin started itching, and he knew he shouldn't, but he started scratching the skin on his arms. Bad idea… after that he couldn't stop.

He just felt so anxious, so depressed, his emotions all seemed to be amplified – but of course that was because he had been on the effects of the drug for so much time now. Without the narcotics to numb his mind, he was literally falling apart… He wanted to tear his skin apart, he wanted to die; he wanted… the drug.

He actually got up at some point, and went to his room with every intention of getting dressed more properly and go find Kabuto to get a dose as fast as possible, but then he thought of Naruto, of his sad blue eyes, of his breaking up with him, of his song, and he collapsed on the floor, crying and sobbing, hugging his ridiculously skinny body…

He didn't leave his apartment after all. Instead he crawled his way back to his couch, where he lay down, waiting for Itachi. He didn't want to go in the bed – it was way too empty without Naruto…

He didn't know how much time had passed when he heard a knock on his door. It brought him out of his slumber and he frowned slightly as he looked up. Itachi didn't wait for an answer and entered the apartment. His jeans and black leather jacket were soaked; right, it was pouring outside, and it must've been hard to find a parking place… In his normal state he would have offered Itachi dry clothes so that he could be more comfortable, but he didn't move, he only returned Itachi's shocked stare.

He hurriedly closed the door and slipped off his shoes.

"You came," Sasuke whispered in a rasp voice.

Itachi's dark eyes were sad as he replied, "Of course I came."

He took off his soaked jacket and sat on the couch next to Sasuke, and the latter unfolded his legs to sit normally. The blanket fell to his knees in the process, and Itachi gasped when he saw his arms.

"Fuck… Sasuke…" he took his arms softly to look at them.

They were bruised because of the repeated injections, and bloody because of his recent compulsive scratching.

"I need…" he started.

"What?" Itachi locked eyes with him as he let go of his arms.

"Heroin… but," he added quickly, "if I don't… if I stop…"

"Of course you're stopping," Itachi cut him, "Damn it Sasuke look at yourself!"

"I know," he breathed, and Itachi could probably see all the shame in the world in his onyx eyes because he nodded quietly. "Withdrawal… is…" he was having trouble to talk properly because of his trembling, and he was feeling feverish, too, "it can be pretty intense, I've heard…" he finished in barely a whisper.

"I know," Itachi replied, "Sasuke I'm gonna be CEO of a drug company soon, remember? Don't scratch your skin!"

He grabbed his arms to stop his scratching, and pulled him into a hug.

"It's gonna be all right," Itachi whispered comfortingly, "I'm gonna help you…"

Sasuke's body was racked with sobs and trembling as he cried on his brother's shoulder. But at least now he felt safe… he knew he was safe.

"Shh it's okay," Itachi said, "I'm here now."

- Chidori -

Naruto looked up from the job offer page of the local newspaper to glance at his mother, "I could work at Ichiraku's!"

She frowned, "The ramen restaurant?"

"Yeah!" he exclaimed.

She pushed her bowl of cereals away and crossed her arms, sighing, "Why are you so eager to find a job? You've got plenty of money. And you could try to find another job as a musician…"

Minato was quietly eating his breakfast while listening to their conversation.

"Don't you want your son to have a steady job?" Naruto argued.

"Not at a ramen stand!" she replied.

"Well maybe he could get us discounts," Minato shrugged.

Kushina glared at him, "Don't encourage him!"

"I was just kidding!" he laughed nervously. "All right I'm off to work!"

They both told him bye and wished him a nice day, and then there was a moment of silence – a very brief one.

"So tell me the truth," Kushina insisted, "why do you want to work? You've only been back a few days!"

"All right," he sighed, giving up, "the truth is I want to get my mind off… things…"

"See, was it so hard?" she smiled triumphantly and Naruto got a little scared, "If you want to keep busy so badly, you should help me with the chores in the house!"

"Ka-san!" he whined.

"You can start by doing the dishes."

He got up reluctantly, but then he got saved by his phone. He checked the id, hopeful for one second that maybe, just maybe it was Sasuke, but of course it wasn't him...

"Hey Karin!"

"Hey, oh my God Naruto there are so many things I need to ask you!"

Naruto went to the living room, his mother glaring at him, but he just shrugged helplessly.

"Well, I'm listening," he said.

"Why'd you quit the band?" she asked.

"That's… complicated. Let's just say your prediction this summer came true."

"What are you talking about?"

"They all became pricks… And Orochimaru's a rapist."

"What! Why do you say that?" she exclaimed.

"I don't have any proof, but I know…"

"Naruto are you okay? Has he done anything to you?"

"No, don't worry about me. He's after Sasuke, or was, anyway…"

"And… how's Sasuke? He never answers his phone, and I don't have much luck with the other two idiots…" she said and Naruto easily guessed she was talking about Kiba and Suigetsu.

"I don't have much news either. All I know is that Itachi's with him. Sakura told me, so…"

"I'm glad," she sounded reassured, "but what about you? Where are you staying?"

"With my parents, for now, I just need to figure out what I'm gonna do…"

"Well, I might have a proposition for you…"

Naruto smiled even though she couldn't see him, "Really? Cool! Let's hear it."

"Remember that movie I told you about?"

"Yeah?"

"Would you like a part in it?"

"…You serious?" he exclaimed enthusiastically.

"Don't get too excited," she laughed, "you have to audition first."

"Do I get to play the guy who saves the girl?" he asked, hopeful.

"No, sorry," she chuckled, "No offense but they need a real actor for that. You'd play one of his idiotic friends looking for hookers."

"Oh, well, that's okay, sounds fun," he shrugged.

"Yeah? Great! If you get the part you'll have to talk in English most of the time – in an American accent preferably. Do you think you can do it?"

"Uh… I'll do my best!" he replied.

"Great! I'm sending you the script of the movie by email, and also the part that you have to learn for the audition, oh, and it's in Kyoto, on Friday. I'm sending you the address too… I'll try to be there for your audition but if I can't… Good luck, Naruto!"

"Thanks," he grinned.

"What are you so happy about?" his mother asked as he hung up.

"Forget the ramen stand Ka-san, I'm gonna be an actor!"

She crossed her arms and stared at him, doubtful, "Really?"

"Well I'm gonna audition," Naruto passed her, lifting his sleeves to do the dishes, "but with my natural charms, I'm sure I'll get it!" he added half-teasing.

"Don't get too cocky…"

"You're my mother, you're supposed to reassure me and tell me that I'm handsome!"

"Your father already tells you all the time," she chuckled as she came to stand beside him with a cloth to dry the dishes.

"That's just because I look exactly like him," he replied.

"Who's the director of that movie?" Kushina asked, curious.

"I don't know… Karin's gonna send me the details by mail. I'll just borrow Dad's computer this evening I guess…"

"Well, I won't reassure you by telling you that you're handsome – you already know you are anyway," she made a little smile, "but you're a really determined guy, just like me," she shrugged slightly, "so I'm sure you'll get it, cause you always get what you want if you work hard enough!"

Naruto smiled back, but on the inside he felt sad. He wanted Sasuke, but he couldn't stay with him. He had wanted to help him, but he hadn't been able to… Well, he could only hope that this movie project would keep his mind off things…

TBC

I decided to update really fast well, first cause it was already written anyway, and i thought they were two small chapters, and the last one finished in kind of a cruel/cliffhanger way... Besides, you guys kept telling me in reviews that sasuke _really_ needed either a wake up call, or some help... well now he kinda got both... so at least things are heading for a change!

Song, the last fight, by bullet for my valentine

I know, it's not realistic that it takes like just a few days to release the video, i know, sorry about that hum, lets just say the editing was reaaally bad and rushed lol...

Thank you so much for reading and reviewing you guys are awesome^^


	18. Audition

Chidori

Chapter 18 – Audition

Most of the time he was sleeping; he had nightmares, of course, but it wasn't that bad. The worst was when he was awake… Withdrawal symptoms were almost over, and he had actually eaten a bit of food at least, all thanks to Itachi… Sasuke really didn't know if he would still be alive without him. He was handling his work from the apartment, with his computer, and Sasuke was pretty silent most of the time, but he was really thankful for his brother's presence. And he didn't have to say it, Itachi knew it. But he just kept thinking about Naruto, his mind didn't want to stop thinking of him, constantly, it haunted him… But he tried to control himself not to cry, not to fall apart again… So far it was working okay.

"I'm gonna get divorced," Itachi suddenly said, breaking the silence.

The two Uchiha brothers were sitting at both sides of the couch, and each had his computer on his lap. Sasuke had been looking at the Chidori videos on youtube, only to see Naruto actually… But when Itachi spoke he looked up immediately, suddenly uncaring about what he was watching.

"Are you serious?" Sasuke asked. His voice had pretty much returned to normal now. He didn't feel strong enough, physically or emotionally, to sing or perform yet, but at least he was able to talk normally. "Cause I really hope you're serious," he added.

Itachi chuckled, glancing at him sideways, "Sakura's a great girl, but I don't love her. Actually I don't think I'm ever gonna be able to love anyone, but that's not an excuse to stay with her. She deserves better than some guy who stays with her just cause his parents want him to be married and live a normal and steady life."

Sasuke hesitated, frowning slightly, "I guess I never thought of it that way but… you're right. You shouldn't say that you'll never fall in love though, you will at some point. And it's gonna be intense, and you're never gonna have experienced anything like it before. But then she's gonna leave you and you're gonna be devastated and feel like shit and just want to die."

Itachi laughed lightly, "Well maybe it's better if I never fall in love then."

"You know I was kidding. Well kind of," he said on a serious tone, which contradicted his words… but so what if he had a fucked up and dark sense of humour?

"How are your arms?" Itachi asked, changing the subject.

"They're fine…" he muttered.

His compulsive scratching had left some marks of course, but it wasn't that bad and would fade away with time. The bruises were almost gone, too. Itachi had been staying with him for four days now, and he felt much better – physically at least…

"Stop worrying about me," he added after a moment of silence where Itachi was just staring at him.

"That's a good one," he replied, chuckling.

Sasuke tensed; Naruto had told him the exact same thing not too long ago… _That's a good one. I shouldn't worry about you… when I find you passed out on the floor, bleeding and so fucked up you couldn't even reach the damn bed!_

He remembered every word Naruto had told him… _I can't do this anymore_…

"Are you okay?" Itachi asked him, frowning.

He shook his thoughts away, "Yeah, I'm fine…"

"No you're not. But I guess I can't do anything about that…"

Itachi always understood everything. Sasuke didn't even have to talk about it… He just understood.

"How's… How is he? Did Sakura tell you anything else?"

"No," Itachi shook his head slightly, "she hasn't seen Naruto since Monday, I think, but he's probably still doing fine."

"Well good…" he whispered sadly.

"You should call him if you want to talk to him, you know," Itachi suggested. "Besides, Naruto's doing the same thing. He's asking Sakura to ask me how you're doing," he chuckled.

"Whatever…" he muttered. His cell phone vibrated and he checked his new sms. It was from Suigetsu. "Kiba and Suigetsu are coming here," he told Itachi.

"Are you okay with that?" the older Uchiha asked him. "The other time you told me not to let them enter."

"Yeah… I just don't want to answer all of their stupid questions…" he sighed, "but I guess it can't be helped… We're still a band. Technically…"

They remained silent for a while, each doing his own things on his computer. When Kiba and Suigetsu got there, Itachi went to open the door.

"Are you gonna let us in this time?" Kiba asked, but he wasn't angry.

Itachi didn't answer, instead he simply stepped aside to let them in, and then he closed the door behind them.

"Hey," Suigetsu said hesitantly, "how are you?"

Sasuke closed his laptop and put it on the low table, "…Better, you?"

"A bit hangover, but I'm good," Suigetsu answered.

"Why am I not surprised?" Sasuke almost smiled.

Itachi brought two chairs so that they could sit with them in the living room. When Kiba was seated, he glanced at Sasuke a bit awkwardly.

"Can I ask you what happened with Naruto? It's just… he won't return my calls, so…"

Sasuke raised a fine brow, a bit surprised. Why wouldn't Naruto return Kiba's calls? Was it because he was resentful of his best friend for encouraging him to party all the time… probably not, that wasn't Naruto's style… but then why…?

"I mean I did kind of…" Kiba started hesitantly, "send him an angry voicemail… but I was drunk, and pissed, and…"

Well that was probably the explanation he was looking for.

"Like I told you, it's understandable dude," Suigetsu glanced at Kiba, "I mean he wrote a song and instead of doing it with us, which could've been good for the band, he did it with some other random weird band. And he didn't tell us about it. And then he leaves the band without telling us…"

"That's because the song talks about me…" Sasuke whispered in a low voice, but they heard it anyway.

"Really?" Kiba asked dumbly.

Itachi looked up from his computer to glare at him, "Oh my God. You really are retarded."

And he went back to his work.

"Hey you jerk, don't talk to me like that!" Kiba exclaimed.

"Kiba," Sasuke glared at him, "you insult him one more time, you're out, got it?"

"Yeah I got it," he muttered.

"Well I kind of figured the song talked about you," Suigetsu said slowly, locking worried violet eyes with Sasuke's, "but he could've kept it and waited for you to get better or something, and then we could've produced it together…"

"It's just a song, Suigetsu," Sasuke replied.

"I know but…" the silver-haired guy hesitated, "these Akatsuki mother fuckers are famous now! And Hiroshi is their drummer… that's fucked up. But we need a new guitarist, and new songs, so I was thinking maybe we should ask Takumi."

Sasuke's heart clenched at the thought of replacing Naruto, but he had to admit Takumi was the best choice.

"Yeah sure," he agreed.

"Well I kinda already asked him," Suigetsu shrugged slightly, "and he said yes so…"

Sasuke glanced away, he didn't really care at this point.

"You're not mad at me are you?"

He looked back at Suigetsu, "No, of course not."

"Hey I wanted to tell you, I wrote a song," Kiba suddenly said, pulling a crippled sheet of paper out of his pocket.

Sasuke raised a brow, "Really?"

"Yeah," the brunet answered, "you know all those times you told me that if I wasn't happy, I should just write some lyrics myself, well I did and…"

"Don't show him your stupid song," Suigetsu interrupted, trying to steal the paper from him, "I told you it's no good!"

"Shut up! I haven't seen you writing any song!" Kiba protested.

"Stop it Suigetsu," Sasuke said, "Let me hear it."

"Don't say I didn't warn you," Suigetsu sighed and leaned back in his seat.

Actually Sasuke was a hundred percent sure that Suigetsu was right and that the song would be really bad, but he hadn't laughed – hell, he hadn't even smiled – in days, maybe weeks now. So maybe this would be really funny at least…

"All right, well, the title is Crazy for you, it talks about Sarah actually," he said a bit shyly, and Sasuke already felt his lips twitch into a little smile, "so here it goes," Kiba cleared his throat and started reading his lyrics.

_Every time I see you babe_

_My heart bursts with love_

_I can't stop thinking about you_

_You're so hot and I wanna do you_

_I'm crazy for you, so crazy for you_

"And you know some singing, kind of, screaming or whatever, and then the chorus again and, you know… It might need some editing but…"

Sasuke was actually smiling, and he really felt like laughing.

"Thank you Kiba, it's good to see my brother smile," Itachi commented.

Suigetsu couldn't contain himself anymore, and he burst out laughing.

"Kiba that's… That's very… lovely but hum… I'm not singing that…" Sasuke chuckled, "besides, don't you think it's a little short?"

"Well I mentioned it needed editing," he muttered.

Suigetsu suddenly gasped and looked at Sasuke, "Hey I can't believe I haven't told you, I guess I just had so many things on my mind and seeing you alive and well, well kind of, have made me lose all the things that I had to tell you…"

"Suigetsu just calm down… what is it?" Sasuke asked.

"Orochimaru's been fired. And we heard of what he almost did to you."

"Oh yeah," Kiba nodded, "sorry for not, like, helping…"

"It's okay," Sasuke shrugged, "you didn't know. So he's really been fired? By whom? I thought he was… well…"

"Yeah we all thought he was the big boss," Suigetsu cut him, "but apparently he's not. There's other people working at Sound Records, so they got him fired. Apparently there _was_ some actual proof of Orochimaru furnishing drugs and abusing… That's horrible…"

"Yeah, it really sucks," Kiba shook his head sadly, "I had no idea. But however it happened, I'm glad he's been fired and I really hope he goes in jail I mean...yeah."

"Me too…" Sasuke sighed. "What about Kabuto?"

"Arrested for detaining and selling drugs, so I've heard…" Kiba answered.

"Well I'm glad, although only a week ago I'd probably be freaking out because I wouldn't know who to buy my dope from…" he chuckled darkly.

"Don't think about that," Itachi told him without lifting his eyes from his computer screen.

"I know," Sasuke whispered.

There was an awkward silence after this, with Suigetsu and Kiba not knowing what to say. Eventually Suigetsu broke the silence.

"I didn't know it was that bad man, I'm really sorry, if I'd known…"

"It's okay," the raven shrugged slightly. "I have only myself to blame."

"And Kimi, kind of, I mean she's the one who got you started," Suigetsu crossed his arms.

"What's happening to her now anyway?" Sasuke asked, changing the subject.

"She wants to try and have a solo career," Kiba answered.

Suigetsu laughed, "Her songs are probably gonna be as good as yours, Kiba."

"Shut up."

Sasuke almost laughed at his idiotic friends, like he'd done so many times before, except something was missing, and his smile disappeared. Naruto really was gone. It was just the three of them now. Well four, with Takumi, but it just wouldn't be the same anymore.

"So who's gonna replace Kabuto? I mean, who's gonna work with us now?" Sasuke asked them, changing the subject again.

"We don't know yet," his silver-haired friend shrugged, "nobody tells us anything. But it all happened pretty recently, so those people working for Sound Records – whoever they are – they're probably still trying to figure it out."

They continued talking for a little while, well it was mostly Suigetsu and Kiba talking, but Sasuke was glad they were here. They were his friends, after all, and even though the emptiness in his heart was as painful as ever, at least them two were still in the band. Sasuke still had something, even though with everything that was happening right now, who knew if Chidori would make it? Naruto was the one who had kept them from fighting, the one who had kept them together…

- Chidori -

Sitting in the first class section on his flight to Kyoto on Friday morning, Naruto was feeling really nervous. He had never thought of being an actor before, but he had been thinking about it for a couple of days now, and he really wanted to try it. There was something mysterious and appealing in entering another character's personality, but actually, it reminded Naruto of when he was on stage. With his guitar, and the band around him, he had been a performer, and an actor, in a way, because even if on the inside sometimes he felt sad and depressed, on stage he was always smiling and conveying energy and passion to the fans through music.

Of course acting was different, but still, he was confident that he could do it. Besides, even if he got the part, well, it was only a small part in the movie. The main character's name was Kayla, and the guy's name was Ryan. It was him and his three friends who were on a vacation in Japan. Two of said friends didn't even have names; well it wasn't mentioned in the script anyway. Naruto's character's name was Sean.

The screenwriter was the same person as the director; Hatake Kakashi. When he had told his mother, she had almost squealed excitedly; she was a fan of that director because he always made love movies. But it was obvious that he hadn't done much research to write that story, and not much character development either. Basically, Naruto's character was only there to annoy the Ryan guy all the time, and to convince him to go to some stripper club or something…

But Naruto didn't mind, the character's personality was funny, if anything, and it had been a good mind changer from Sasuke… Of course he thought about Sasuke all the time. Sakura had even gotten mad at him for constantly harassing her, asking her to call Itachi again, to have some news of Sasuke. Well he knew he was getting better, because that's what Itachi had told Sakura, and that made him feel really happy and reassured, but sad at the same time. He kind of wished he had been the one to help Sasuke. Sometimes he wondered what he had done wrong… He wondered if there was something he could've done to stop Sasuke from taking his drugs…

Maybe he should've informed himself more. He didn't know much about drugs, and he certainly wasn't interested in any of them, but for Sasuke's sake, maybe he could've done some research, to know how to help him…

His heart ached at those thoughts, and there was some crushing regret inside of him… And the feeling that it was too late, that now they were apart and each would live his own life was haunting him constantly…

When he landed Karin was there to greet him. She had been able to free herself for his audition, and he was really glad because he would've been alone and really stressed out otherwise.

"Hey Naruto! I'm so glad you're here!" the red-headed young woman smiled warmly and hugged him.

He hugged back, "Well thank you for getting me an audition!"

They pulled away, and went to find Naruto's luggage together.

"Actually it's not all me," she chuckled, "to be honest with you, Kakashi and Ariane wanted to work with you."

"Really? Why?" he frowned, confused.

"Cause they're fans!" she exclaimed, "You're famous Naruto, get used to it."

"I'm not that famous…"

As if they did in on purpose to contradict his very words, a group of three girls suddenly walked up to him, squealing enthusiastically. They asked him for his autograph, which he gave with a smile, and they walked away with wide smiles on their faces.

Karin was laughing; well Naruto couldn't really blame her…

"No comment," he chuckled as he picked up his suitcase.

"Soon your fans are gonna start asking you why you quit the band though," Karin said more seriously, "get ready for that."

"I guess you're right," he sighed.

"If you want to pursue a career in music, or in acting, whatever you want, you know I'm still available to be your agent, right?" she made a little smile as she glanced up at him – even with her heels she wasn't as tall as him.

"That'd be great," he smiled back. "Thanks Karin."

"Well then I hope you're ready for that audition!" she exclaimed as they stopped a cab outside and hopped in the back seat.

She told the address to the driver, and turned back to look at him.

"I've been practicing all week," he shrugged, "and honestly it's really not that hard. I've got such a small part…"

"Good! Mark is not here though, so I don't know, maybe Kakashi will do the audition with you or something…"

"Who's Mark?" Naruto asked, confused.

"Oh, he's the lead actor. He was supposed to be here for the auditions, but he delayed his flight and… anyway, he's not here."

"So he's not even gonna audition?" Naruto was offended.

"Kakashi made a phone audition… and besides he's a famous actor so he's fit for the job."

They arrived at the Toei Kyoto movie studio park, and Karin led him to a separate studio where the interviews took place. Naruto looked all around him with wide eyes; he'd so have gotten lost if he'd been all by himself…

He was starting to get really nervous. He kept repeating his lines in his head, even though they were really simple, he was scared that he would somehow get them wrong or even forget some words…

"We're here!" Karin exclaimed as they got into a room where three people were sitting and discussing.

"Ah, Karin, you're early!" a strange man with spiky hair – actually that was an understatement, crazy would define that man's hair better – and a mask covering the lower half of his face, exclaimed while standing up.

"I'm not early Kakashi, I'm on time, it's different!" it was apparently some sort of inside joke because they all laughed, and then the one named Kakashi walked up to Naruto and shook his hand, "It's an honour to meet you Naruto-kun, I'm Hatake Kakashi."

"You already know my name, so…" he laughed nervously as Kakashi let go of his hand.

"Yup! I'm a big fan of your music, although Karin told me you're not part of Chidori anymore, which sucks, but at the same time is fun, because you get to play in my movie!" even though his mouth couldn't be seen, it was easy to see by his eyes that he was smiling.

Naruto chuckled; that guy was so weird, but he seemed cool.

"That's not decided yet, Kakashi-san," the woman that was still sitting in the back of the room said.

She introduced herself to Naruto as the director of casting, and the other man just remained silent, waiting impatiently for Kakashi and Karin to take their places and watch Naruto's audition. Just like Karin had expected, Kakashi volunteered to play Ryan's part for his audition.

"Uzumaki Naruto, auditioning for the role of Sean in Fallen Angel," the woman said and wrote down on her paper at the same time, making Naruto nervous. "You can go," she looked up and steepled her fingers.

"All right," he cleared his throat, trying to control his stress, and looked at Kakashi. "We should do something fun tonight! Come on Ryan! I mean so far we've been doing sightseeing and going to museums and all and it was awesome, but there's only three days left in this trip and I wanna do something different! I wanna make the most of it!" Naruto tried to sound as enthusiast and convincing, and also annoying, as he could.

Kakashi replied with Ryan's line, "I don't know… there's this anime convention tomorrow, and I wanted to go early…"

"I want to go too! And we'll go! But tonight, I wanna go out. And you're coming with me! It's like you always tell me, we only got one life! And… Asian chicks are just so hot…" Naruto tried to make his tone of voice and smile look horny, he hoped it worked…

"Yeah well strippers clubs are not my thing!"

Naruto shook his head and said, "It's not just any strippers club! I told you, I heard of it and it's like, totally crazy, with the girls performing and singing and dancing… Come on man we have to go! Hey, it's all part of discovering Japanese culture!" he added with a smirk.

"All right, all right fine…" Kakashi said.

"Awesome! You won't regret it man!" the blond said his last line for the audition, grinning like crazy.

"Oh I'm regretting it already…"

Naruto frowned as he looked at Kakashi, "You added that last one, didn't you?"

He shrugged, "Improvising is good! You improvised some words of your own as you said your text, too, and I thought it was great!"

"Really," he said, nervous, "I didn't even realize I added words…"

"It wasn't that bad Naruto," Karin reassured him, "you added little words here and there, and Kakashi's right, it sounded really good anyway."

"Okay," he shrugged helplessly, "so… when will I get an answer?"

"You should get it by tomorrow evening, when the auditions will be finished," the director of casting told him as she wrote some things down.

"Okay well…. Thank you so much!" Naruto said politely, and then left with Karin.

He had booked in the same hotel as Karin was staying with the actress, Ariane, but she wasn't there at the moment so Karin told him she'd introduce him later. For now he was really tired anyway, so he decided to just go get some sleep in his room, feeling a little more relaxed now that the damn audition was finally over…

TBC

A/N: I just wanna say, don't worry, the movie thing is not gonna be that big a deal, I mean there won't be super important outside characters again making drama and all lol just wanted to make that clear... The story is still gonna be mostly about the band, so it's kinda just to show what Naruto's doing on his own. Anyways, thanks for reading ^^


	19. Inspiration

Chidori

Chapter 19 – Inspiration

Itachi was gone. But Sasuke understood, actually he had been the one to insist that he should leave. He had things he needed to take care of in Konoha, after all. He had stayed with Sasuke an entire week, and that was more than enough. Sure he was a drug addict, but that was his own fight. He had to resist the urge to go and get some dope that would make him forget, that would numb the pain…

Well for now he had just gone through a pretty intense and horrible week because of withdrawal, so he didn't really fancy starting all over again.

But he felt so _lonely_; without Naruto, it was just so hard to live with himself. The shame, the pressure, the stress, the doubts… He realized, now more than ever, just how much he needed Naruto.

He had given up trying not to think about him, it was just not possible. And whenever he found something on the internet that talked about him, he read it – all of it. As if he could get closer to him by doing that. He did realize he was pathetic and was only doing what the fans were always doing, but he had nothing else.

So as he lay on his bed, his computer open in front of him, he randomly got to a page with movie news, and they were announcing the cast for director Hatake Kakashi's next film. And Naruto was in there.

They had chosen a very nice picture of him, probably recent because his hair was shorter and bleached, just like the last time Sasuke had seen him. He wondered if they had chosen him because he could actually act, or just for his looks. Either way, he just found it so amazing that Naruto had moved on so fast. Hell, he had already found a new job… as an actor! Naruto really was something. And Sasuke had lost him…

He wiped his tears off frustratingly. Since he had stopped taking the drugs – and of course it didn't help that Naruto had broken up right before – he was so damn emotional…

Curious, and having nothing better to do, he read the description of the movie. It seemed like one of those retarded love movies with some action scenes thrown here and there just to attract some male audience. Oh well, it would probably be popular. Japan loved copying American culture nowadays… Naruto was playing the hero's best friend or something. They had probably chosen him for his looks, Sasuke thought.

As he kept on looking at pictures of Naruto on the internet, he eventually cursed himself for being so pathetic. So he closed his laptop and went to put it back on his desk. He threw himself back on the bed and just stared at the ceiling for a moment. And then, without even clearly thinking about it, he reached for his drawer – not for drugs that weren't there anyway, but for the notebook, that god damn notebook with pictures of Naruto and him. His ex-boyfriend had never mentioned it, but Sasuke had known all along that he was a little sad because he never wrote anything in it.

He sat cross-legged, leaning against his pillow on the wall, and put the notebook in his lap. Holding his breath, he opened it and started turning the pages. Looking at pictures of Naruto on the internet was one thing, but looking at pictures of the two of them, happy, together, in love… That was something else entirely. He started crying quietly again, the tears rolling down his pale cheeks and falling in the notebook, leaving marks.

When he got to the end, he frowned slightly when he saw something written then. It was Naruto's handwriting – the lyrics to the song The last fight, of course.

He chuckled sadly; if any doubts lingered that this song wasn't a direct message to him, well now they were gone.

He suddenly felt like this song was indeed some kind of message, or provocation, from Naruto. Maybe he was just being crazy, but he picked up a pen, returned to the first page, and started writing, writing a song about Naruto, about losing him, about being nothing without him. He didn't give much thought or anything to it, he wasn't thrilled because, oh God he was writing again and it had been so long… No. He was just writing. For Naruto, it had always been for him.

He had a purpose. He had so many emotions - very dark ones - and he needed to express them somehow. Later in the evening, he sat at his piano and started composing there too.

They had a meeting with the new producer the next day, so it was perfect timing…

- Chidori -

"I told you, I want studio time. Now," he insisted.

The blonde woman who was now their producer glared at him. "I don't care how Orochimaru treated you. I don't care how famous you are. I'm your boss now, and you're gonna show me respect. In other words, don't talk to me like that you little prick."

They had broken the contract, removed Naruto and Ino from it, and included Takumi as the new guitarist. And now the woman who had introduced herself as Tsunade was trying to tell them that all the studios were currently used by other bands due to the fact that Chidori had constantly been rescheduling. But Sasuke would hear none of it.

"Look, Tsunade, I'm sorry if I sounded rude, but you don't understand, I…"

She cut him angrily. "You sure sound rude right now! Don't be so familiar!"

"Oh Sasuke never uses honorific." Suigetsu stepped in lazily, "even in high school he didn't, but the teachers let it go because he was a straight A student…"

"I didn't ask to hear his life story!" Tsunade shouted.

Sasuke continued as if he had never been interrupted. "You don't understand. I've got songs ready and…"

"No offense," she cut him again, and now Sasuke was starting to get really pissed, and he gave her his best glare. But that bitch ignored it. "I've heard of you, and I know you're a drug addict…"

"It's over now," he interrupted her, still glaring.

"Look," she sighed, "I've heard that before. It's over I promise… yeah right, bullshit. Next thing I know I open my television and in the news they say my talent's been sent to rehab…"

This time Suigetsu stood up for him – literally.

"You want us to treat you with respect? Huh? Then treat us with respect too. It's not cool, what you're doing, you don't know him, and you have no idea what he's been through… If there's something Sasuke is not, it's a liar. If he says it's over, then it's over. And if he says he's got good songs, well I believe him, and I also want to go in a studio to start recording as soon as possible."

Suigetsu sat down, out of breath, and Tsunade stared at him. Sasuke exchanged a knowing glance and nod with his best friend, to silently thank him.

"Is your little speech over now?" Tsunade asked. "Because I've heard it before too. Let me see, I don't know what he's been through huh? I'm taking a wild guess here… tortured artist, drug problems, depression, family problems, struggling with his sexuality…"

"…Well he's not struggling with his sexuality." Kiba said, and Sasuke glared at him.

Well the brunet at least looked a little scared; good, so his glare was still working to some extent.

"Oh, good for you," Tsunade said, glancing at Sasuke, "perhaps a horrible break up then?"

Nobody said a word.

"Anyway," she got up slowly, gathering her folders. "We're done for today. I'll give you a call when I find you a new agent, and to let you know when a studio will be free…"

Sasuke got up and looked at her threateningly. "You might want to listen to me without interrupting this time Tsunade-_san_," he pronounced the honorific with spite in his voice, and she stopped her movements, stared at him with her arms crossed and an amused little smile on her lips. "You think I'm a little idiot, don't you?" he continued, "Well guess what, I'm not. Orochimaru gave me GHB without my consent, and then he tried to fucking rape me. I could sue your little record label, I could get the very best lawyers out there, and suck you dry. Trust me, I can do it. Ever heard of Uchiha corp? I might have some family problems, like you so kindly pointed out before," he said, voice dripping with sarcasm, and her smile disappeared, "but my brother's got my back, and he happens to be CEO. You might wanna try to avoid a law suit with me. And you know, I think I don't really like Sound Records anymore. We've been receiving quite interesting offers from other labels, right guys?" he asked without breaking eye contact with her.

He was kind of bluffing when it came to the suing thing, he wasn't exactly sure how it worked. But apparently she wasn't either, because she looked scared.

"Yeah," Suigetsu and Kiba both agreed to his last claim.

"I've been in this industry for four years now, I've got plenty of contacts," Takumi added.

Sasuke smirked. "I think I might just break this contract again, and go see a label that treats us better, and that wants to produce Chidori's second record right now. What do you think guys?" he asked again.

"You're right," Suigetsu got up as well, "we should get the hell out of here…"

"Yeah," Kiba imitated them.

Takumi remained silent but he stood up as well, ready to leave with the three others.

Tsunade was red with anger; clearly she had underestimated Sasuke.

"Wait." She said a bit reluctantly, but she was probably well aware that her job was on the line. "I'll do what I can for the studio. There might be one free for Thursday this week..."

"That's what I thought," Sasuke said on an even tone, but he was still smirking.

"You've won this round Uchiha," she snapped, "and despite my being very angry at you at the moment," she took a deep breath as if to calm herself, "you've gained some of my respect. You better work your asses off for this record though, I want it to be finished fast, and I want it to be great."

- Chidori -

Two days later, they were back at the studio, and God it felt good to be back. Sasuke was playing the keyboard part for the song that would be their first single, and so far his friends had only praise to give him. It was called Losing you, and it was pretty dark, but they liked it. Their sound technician, Konan, and their new agent, a young woman named Shizune, were also very enthusiastic. They liked Sasuke's voice – thankfully it had gone back to normal since his lifestyle had improved – and they liked the energy and drive of the band. As for Suigetsu, Kiba and Sasuke, they didn't need to say it, they were all thinking the same thing in the back of their mind; they missed Naruto.

Even though Kiba and Suigetsu were still a bit resentful of him for producing his song with another band, Sasuke knew they would be ready to forgive him and take him back any time. But that wouldn't happen. And now they had Takumi instead, who was an excellent guitarist, but also a song writer. He also had a bunch of songs that somewhat fit their style, or so he had told Sasuke.

Tsunade wouldn't regret her decision, because this record would surely be good, dark maybe, but great nonetheless. And it would be finished fast, because the four of them were really motivated.

At the end of the day they had already done quite a good amount of work, and to celebrate Kiba and Suigetsu decided to go out – but really it was just an excuse. Konan actually said she would join them with her boyfriend, who happened to be the lead singer of Akatsuki. Shizune told them she wasn't much of a partier, but she smiled and wished them a good evening, and that she would be back the next day to continue working. She seemed like a really nice and kind girl so far, and Sasuke was glad, but he also hoped she would do the job well.

Sasuke didn't want to go out either. He wanted to go home and work on some more songs. As for Takumi, he was hesitating.

"I don't know… besides, don't you guys always party with Kimi?" he asked Kiba and Suigetsu, as they walked towards their cars in the underground private parking Tsunade had recently given them access to. She had been really scared by Sasuke's threats.

"Oh come on man it will be fun!" Kiba insisted.

"You're aware that doesn't answer his question?" Sasuke raised a brow.

"Who cares if Kimi's there or not?" Suigetsu shrugged, "You've got to move on man."

Takumi glanced away, "I don't think it's a good idea…"

Sasuke put his hands in his pockets and walked towards his own car.

"You should come too, Sasuke!" Suigetsu called after him. "Come on join us later!"

"No sorry," he said as he opened his car door.

"Oh come on! You've been locked up in your apartment for a whole week!" Kiba exclaimed.

"I'll go if you go," Takumi finally said, addressing Sasuke.

The raven stopped his movements and glanced at his three band mates. "You really encouraging me to go out, guys, seriously?"

Suigetsu sighed and walked up to him. "Look, you're not gonna take any drugs, all right? If someone there offers you heroin, or whatever, I'll personally take care of the matter," he cracked his knuckles, "and kill them and flush the drug down the toilet, all right?"

Sasuke chuckled and glanced away. "I want to work on my songs…"

"You have the whole weekend to work on your damn whiny songs! Come on man we're celebrating! We're back at the studio recording! You've started writing again!"

"Suigetsu, you celebrate everyday…"

"So what?" he exclaimed. "Come on Sasuke! I'll stay with you the whole evening okay? Just one drink! It'll be fun. And Takumi's gonna come if you come, you heard him!" he glanced back at their two friends. "Poor guy hasn't had much of a social life lately. I'm sure he could use a night out too."

"Fine..." Sasuke sighed, already regretting this, "one drink…"

"Awesome!" his silver-haired friend grinned, slapping his shoulder, "I'll text you! Tell you where we decide to go! See you later!"

"Yeah, whatever," he muttered, shaking his head in disbelief.

- Chidori -

"We should go out tonight!" Karin exclaimed enthusiastically. "Just the three of us!"

"I don't know… I have an interview tomorrow morning, and I need my beauty sleep," Ariane answered.

Naruto was in Karin and Ariane's hotel room because he hated being alone in his. The two girls didn't mind, actually they seemed to enjoy his company. Well, he had always gotten along well with Karin, and he was glad that she was working as his agent again. As for Ariane, aka the main actress of the movie Fallen Angel, he didn't know her that well yet, but she seemed like a really cool girl. She was 20 years old, even though she played a 17 years old in the movie, and she was really pretty. Her long curly raven hair went all the way down to her lower back, and she had those gorgeous almond-shaped green eyes. That particular eye colour, added to the fact that she had a little bit of freckles on her delicate cheeks and nose, betrayed her European half. But the mix looked beautiful in her case that was for sure.

"Oh come on! We should go to a nice club, have a few drinks and dance a little, oh you'll see, Naruto is such a great dancer!"

"You're my agent Karin!" she laughed as she got up from the bed and went to the bathroom, "you shouldn't be bad influence!"

"Your interview's only at twelve!" the red-headed girl argued.

"Maybe if we don't stay out too long," Ariane started to give in.

"Oh thank you! You'll see, it's gonna be fun," Karin smiled as she went to fumble through her suitcase.

Naruto had remained silent this whole time, and he only watched the girls as they started to get ready to go out.

"Karin! Why are you wandering around in your underwear in front of Naruto? You should come in the bathroom with me!" Ariane exclaimed as she opened the door.

"He's gay!" Karin replied.

"Oh," the raven-haired girl laughed as she stepped out of the bathroom in her lacy black underwear, "I didn't know!"

Naruto burst out laughing; girls could be so silly. As if showing themselves in their underwear in front of a straight guy would make him jump on them.

Well, now that he thought of it, maybe it would...

"What's so funny Naruto?" Karin asked him as she was trying to choose an outfit. "Why are you being so silent anyway? Before I could understand, it was because you were so nervous. But now everything's fine, you've got the part! Stop acting strange…"

"I'm not acting strange," he said defensively. "Can't I be quiet once in a while?"

"Well, not the Naruto I know," she chuckled. "The Naruto I know never shuts up."

"Fine," he raised his arms in surrender, "then I'll talk. So I've been thinking, are you guys gonna stay in this hotel for the whole shooting?"

"No we'll probably rent an apartment or something." Ariane shrugged, "What about you?"

"I haven't figured it out yet," Naruto frowned as he traced circles on the blanket absent-mindedly.

"You could get an apartment around here too," Karin suggested.

"I don't have that much money," the blond replied in a little voice.

"How come?" She frowned, "With Chidori, you should've made a good amount, no?"

"Not enough to have an apartment of my own… And they didn't lose any time taking me off the contract so… my account's kind of getting empty really fast."

"Well staying at the hotel is really expensive," Karin said thoughtfully as she finally chose a little black dress – she always wore that to go out anyway.

"You could try to find a roommate," Ariane suggested.

"Yeah," he whispered.

Ariane finally chose her outfit too; a black skirt and a dark red sleeveless top.

"You both look really beautiful," he said sincerely.

"Thank you Naruto!" Ariane smiled. "You should go get dressed too!"

He got up and stretched lazily. "I guess…"

He had been hanging around in sweat pants all day long, so he figured he might as well actually do something for the evening…

He took a shower and got dressed in skinny jeans, tank top and sleeveless hoodie; all black. It contrasted with his bleached blond hair, and made his tan skin and blue eyes stand out more too. Ino had always recommended black for him. And… Sasuke had always told him he looked hot in that colour too…

He wondered if Sasuke was going out as well, in Tokyo. Probably; it was Thursday night after all… He wondered if he would get drunk, if he would take drugs… If he would kiss other people and sleep with other people… As if nothing had happened, as if Naruto had never existed…

- Chidori -

"All right the next round's on me!" Sasuke laughed, nodding to the barmaid when she asked if he wanted the same type of liquor again.

"Awesome!" Kiba put his hand on his shoulder briefly. "And then we'll go dance!"

"Yes, I wanna dance!" Sarah said drunkenly as she clung to Kiba.

"I know!" he laughed.

Suigetsu and Takumi smiled as they both picked up a shooter glass and drank it simultaneously with Sasuke. They had also drunk _a lot_ before that. Shooters, beers, cocktails… Sasuke couldn't count them anymore.

"What are you doing still at the bar you bunch of alcoholics?" Hiroshi told them as he himself took place at the bar counter with the blond guitarist from Akatsuki with him.

"Look who's talking," Takumi mocked him.

"Are you guys together?" Suigetsu asked them.

"Well," the blond shrugged, "you could say that."

"That's awesome man I'm happy for you!" Suigetsu grinned, looking at Hiroshi.

"Thanks," the raven smiled and then he turned to the barmaid to order a few drinks.

"Hey, hum, you," Kiba said, looking at the blond, "did Naruto tell you why he made the song with you guys?"

"Well…" he hesitated.

Hiroshi glared at Kiba. "He has a name you know. You should try to be polite for once."

"Oh, sorry, I'm Kiba and you?"

"Deidara," he chuckled, "and it's okay I'm acting weird when I'm drunk too so I understand. As for why Naruto did the song with us, no actually he didn't say much, sorry."

Suigetsu hit Kiba's shoulder. "I've already explained everything to you, you dumb fuck! And stop talking about that," he glanced at Sasuke worriedly.

But Sasuke had ordered more shooters, and he was ignoring them. Of course he had been listening, but he was pretending not to. And he wanted more alcohol. He wanted to get wasted to forget his pain. Besides, he wasn't taking any drugs so he didn't see the big deal…

He wondered if Naruto was going out with his new friends from the cast of the movie. Maybe he had even met a guy there in Kyoto. Naruto was a pretty social person, so it was possible. His heart clenched at the thought, and a lump formed in his throat… Which meant only one thing; he did need to get more wasted.

"Another one?" he asked Takumi.

"Hell yeah," he replied, but the sad expression on his face contradicted his enthusiastic words.

Well, they were both in the same situation – similar, anyway. They both had someone they wanted to forget, if only for one night… but they both knew that was too much to hope for. And deep down, they didn't want to forget anyway… But maybe just forget the pain, if anything…

- Chidori -

"We should go to a gay bar!" Ariane suggested as they got out of the hotel.

"Why?" Karin asked, laughing.

"Well Naruto's gay!" she replied. "And besides, I'm so sick of normal clubs, the guys are so rude, and disgusting, and drunk… Gay clubs are better. The music's better, and the guys are so hot…"

"Yeah but they're not interested in you," Karin chuckled as they walked down the street, looking for a cab.

"So? It's good eye-candy," the raven-haired girl shrugged and smiled playfully.

"We should ask Naruto," Karin said.

"I really don't care," he shrugged, "but I have to agree with Ariane on the music and eye-candy part…"

"All right! Gay club it is!" Karin laughed.

Chidori –

Sasuke was dancing with a smile on his face. Suigetsu was dancing in front of him, and he was imitating their friends' dancing to make him laugh – and it was working. It didn't take much to make him laugh in the state he was though.

"This is Kiba," Suigetsu told him before imitating the brunet's dancing.

He did a stupid gangster style dance, laid back and with a fictive beer in his hand, and Sasuke laughed. But actually Kiba wasn't dancing like that at the moment; he was glued to Sarah.

"Deidara!" Suigetsu exclaimed.

He put his hands on his hips, battled his eyelashes, and danced in a slutty, girly way, running his hands through his long silver hair and moving his ass teasingly. Sasuke laughed and glanced at Deidara, who was too busy dancing with Hiroshi to notice Suigetsu's antics. He burst out laughing when he saw that indeed, Deidara was pretty much dancing exactly like Suigetsu had.

"That red-head dude," Suigetsu pointed Yahiko, who was also too busy dancing with Konan to notice anything.

They weren't dancing that close though, and Yahiko was making some pretty weird moves with his arms, maybe some wannabe break dancing or something… Again, Sasuke burst out laughing when he looked at Suigetsu's exaggerated imitation.

"Now Takumi!" Suigetsu exclaimed.

He started dancing like crazy, throwing his head back and his arms up, and Sasuke, glancing at Takumi, had to admit that their drunken friend was a pretty funny sight as he danced alone.

"Do me," Sasuke requested.

Suigetsu raised a brow as he moved closer to the raven, "Sasuke, I mean, we're best friends…" he teased him.

"I mean the dancing!" he laughed. "Idiot"

"I know I was just kidding," Suigetsu smiled back, "but I can't imitate your dancing. You're a good dancer and I'm not good enough so…"

"I think you're a good dancer," he shrugged slightly.

"Thanks," Suigetsu said, and they suddenly both realized they were a little bit too close. "Hey do you want another shooter?" he laughed to break the tension, and led him to the bar.

"Sure! I'm not drunk enough yet," he replied.

"I think we're both drunk enough, but who the hell cares," Suigetsu laughed.

After three more shooters, they were way passed 'drunk enough' and they were dancing intensely in the middle of the dance floor. Sasuke was getting lost in the music, moving his body and smiling, his ponytail was getting a little bit loose but he didn't care, and he'd long ago gotten rid of his hoodie, now left in just his dark blue tank top. Suigetsu was dancing right in front of him. He was wearing his usual black skinny jeans and violet v-neck t-shirt, and he had some black eyeliner around his violet eyes. Looking into his eyes a little longer, Sasuke realized they were filled with… lust. They both moved closer. Next thing they knew they were dancing together.

- Chidori -

Naruto was smiling as he danced with Ariane. He had danced with Karin a little before, too. It wasn't anything serious, they were just having fun. The guys were really hot, and the music was really good; Ariane had been right. Except Naruto really wasn't in the mood to flirt or anything… Some guys did look at him a little longer than necessary, in other words, checked him out, but he politely declined any invitation. His two girl friends were a little jealous, and they blamed him for not dancing with any of those hot dudes.

After a while he had left the two girls alone on the dance floor, and now he was standing at the bar, drinking beer after beer. It turned out there were actually some straight guys in there, because Karin and Ariane had found dance partners. Naruto smiled as he looked at them; they were having fun, that was all that mattered.

"Naruto!" someone suddenly exclaimed beside him. "Oh my God, I didn't think I'd ever see you again."

He recognized that voice, and when he turned around he saw that his guess had been right. It was Jamie.

"Hey what's up!" he smiled.

"Ah well, just trying to have some fun I guess…" he shrugged, "you?"

"Same," he replied, "Is Sai around?"

"Oh… no… we broke up," he made a little sad smile as he took a sip of his drink.

"That sucks"

"Yeah… it's better that way, it just… it wasn't working anymore so…"

Naruto nodded, not knowing what to say.

"So you quit the band huh?" Jamie asked.

"Ya you could also say that it wasn't working anymore…"

"Well you're such a great guitarist man seriously, Chidori's gonna suck without you!"

He chuckled, "Thanks man I appreciate."

"Hey do you want to dance? You know, just for fun," he added quickly when he saw that Naruto was hesitating.

"Sorry… don't take it personal I just… don't feel like it," he scratched the back of his head sheepishly.

"It's all right don't worry about it," Jamie said, but he looked disappointed. "Hey just curious, where're you staying in Kyoto?"

"At a hotel, but I'm gonna have to find something else soon," he answered.

"Yeah I heard you were gonna shoot a movie in here!" Jamie nodded, "So anyway I can't help you cause I live in the doorms at school, but Sai's currently looking for a roommate, and I think he'd be more than glad to live with you," he chuckled bitterly.

Naruto frowned, and he wondered, was that the reason why they'd broken up; because of him, because Sai couldn't move on in the end?

"Okay," he said simply, and then Jamie nodded and made his way back to the dance floor.

- Chidori -

"The fuck are we doing?" Sasuke said in between two heated kisses.

"Ahh…" Suigetsu moaned as he grinded against him in the bed, "who cares… Don't tell me you don't want this too…"

Sasuke chose to stay silent as they continued making out. They sat up and got rid of each other's tops, and then fell back in the bed and did the same for their pants and boxers. They were both painfully hard. They were both drunk out of their minds…

"Ahh… fuck…" Sasuke moaned as he arched his back; Suigetsu's cock was getting dangerously close to his entrance; and God he wanted this… he needed this…

The silver-haired guy slid inside of him roughly, putting his hands firmly on his hips, and his eyes closed, "Fuck… you're so tight… how come you're so tight…"

"I'm not… usually bottom… for your information…"

"Feels good," he whispered, ignoring Sasuke's comment as he started moving faster inside him, "so damn good…"

Sasuke arched his back again as Suigetsu hit his prostate, and closed his eyes, filled by a mix of pleasure and sadness. Even drunk out of his mind, he was still thinking about Naruto. And at that moment, with his eyes closed, he imagined this was Naruto fucking him. His blond hair would be all messy, his face so perfect but flustered and his body so hot and toned, his tan skin… And he would make some smart ass comment about Sasuke being bottom only when he was drunk… And he'd lean closer to kiss him, and to entangle his fingers in his raven hair because he knew he liked it so much…

"I'm gonna come," Suigetsu whispered, bringing him out of his little fantasy.

But Sasuke was pleasuring himself with his hand, and he was going to come soon too anyway. They climaxed pretty much at the same time, and Suigetsu slid out of him and collapsed on the bed beside him.

Without a word, Sasuke turned on his side and closed his eyes. He just wanted to forget everything and sleep… Maybe in the morning he'd be hungover and have forgotten everything…

But Suigetsu also turned and hugged him from behind, pressing their bodies closer.

"What're you doin'?" Sasuke whispered without opening his eyes.

"I just… haven't slept close to someone in a while… Just… just pretend I'm him… Just like when I was… you know…" he chuckled.

"How'd you know?" Sasuke asked, but he didn't move.

"Easy enough, you whispered his name…"

"Oh," he frowned, he hadn't even realized…

"I really don't care," Suigetsu whispered. "Look, we're just two friends, who were drunk and wanted to relieve some sexual tension or something…"

"Kay…"

"Besides, that was totally worth it. Thank you, really, that was like, my best fuck with a guy."

"How was that the best, I didn't even do anything…" Sasuke chuckled.

"Doesn't matter. Just looking at you, man… that was hot…"

"Ugh was that like, a fantasy of yours or something?" he asked, but he wasn't angry, just… amused, actually – probably because he was drunk.

"We should go to sleep," Suigetsu whispered.

Sasuke did as Suigetsu had told him; pretend it was Naruto sleeping with him. It didn't really work though… but he was so exhausted that he fell asleep anyway.

- Chidori -

Naruto had to help the two girls to their hotel room because they were so tired and drunk. They'd had a really good time with the two guys they had met at the club, and Naruto was glad. He just hoped that Ariane wouldn't be too hungover the next day…

As for him he had drunk quite a lot – beer, mostly – but he didn't even feel drunk. He just felt more depressed. But at least his talk with Jamie had been useful. He was actually considering living with Sai. Why not? He was nice enough, and even though he was probably still in love with him, maybe Naruto could show him once and for all that he wasn't the same anymore, and that Sai was just in love with the idea of love… with the idea of being with him, without actually really knowing him that well…

Wow, that was so deep, he chuckled to himself. In love with the idea of love… With Sasuke it had been so much more than that… It had been meaningful, true and beautiful, what they had… And now it was over… Alone in his hotel room, he cried himself to sleep that night. But he had taken his decision; in the morning, he would call Sai.

TBC


	20. Unexpected news

Chidori

Chapter 20 – Unexpected news

Sasuke went through a very horrible moment when he woke up. At first he thought that Naruto was sleeping with him, spooning him actually, and he smiled. But it really didn't last long. It wasn't the same body, the same feel, the same smell…

"Fuck," he muttered as he pushed Suigetsu away from him.

"Five more minutes," Suigetsu grumbled as he grabbed a pillow and hugged it as if to replace Sasuke.

"Get up," the raven snapped as he made his way to the bathroom, "we have to go to the studio. And please don't make this more awkward than it already is," he added before closing the door.

He took a quick shower, trying to ignore his throbbing headache. But the worst was the pain he felt on the inside – he had cheated on Naruto. Sure he was technically single now, but he still loved him, longed for him, wanted him back… And now he had just made all that meaningless by sleeping with someone else.

So at that very moment, he took a decision. He would stop drinking, continue to stay away from drugs, and also he wouldn't kiss or sleep with anyone else… He would wait for Naruto. And even if he didn't want him back, Sasuke didn't think he could ever be with anyone else, ever again.

"Are you mad at me?" Suigetsu asked when he came out of the bathroom.

"Yes."

Sugietsu sat up, whining. "It didn't mean anything! We were drunk, so it doesn't even count! It was just for fun! We don't even have to mention it like, ever again!"

"I sure agree with you on that last one," Sasuke said darkly.

"Can I have some water?"

"Get it yourself."

The silver-haired guy pouted, got up and made his way to the bathroom to drink some water, leaving the door open.

"Could you put some clothes on?" Sasuke exclaimed, annoyed.

He had already gotten dressed himself, and now he was taking the sheets off. He would probably burn them or something…

"What?" Suigetsu asked dumbly. "It's not like you've never seen it before," he glanced down at his dick.

Sasuke picked up Suigetsu's scattered clothes, shoved them in his arms, and closed the bathroom door.

"Are we still friends?" Suigetsu asked through the door.

"Just hurry up!" Sasuke urged him, annoyed. "We gotta go!"

"But are we still friends?" Suigetsu asked again when he opened the door, putting his t-shirt on.

"How old are you, 5?" Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Yeah we're still friends whatever…"

"Awesome!"

- Chidori -

Recording was almost painful for Sasuke that day. But at lunch break he ate a little, and then threw up, and after that he actually felt much better. They got a lot of work done, and the four of them, as well as Shizune and Konan, were certain that the record would be great, and released in no time, just like Tsunade wanted it.

In the evening Kiba and Suigetsu wanted to go out again…

"Fuck no." Sasuke muttered as they were replacing all the instruments in the studio room.

"What about you Takumi?" Kiba asked him.

"No I think I'll pass…"

"But you got laid last night, no?" The brunet inquired.

"Oh yeah it was great, except I don't remember _anything_, and she was gone when I woke up this morning," he said sarcastically.

"Oh," Kiba said. "Well Suigetsu my man, looks like it's just the two of us tonight!" He put his arm around his friend's shoulders. "And Sarah."

"Is partying all you ever do?" Takumi asked them.

"Yeah," Suigetsu shrugged.

"By the way Sui where did you sleep last night?" Kiba asked. "You didn't come back home." He added him as they started walking away.

They heard Suigetsu laugh nervously. "I dunno man…"

Their voices faded and Sasuke and Takumi were left alone in the room.

"You're not going?" Takumi asked as he picked up his guitar case.

"No… I think I'm gonna stay and practice some more…"

"They're gonna close the place soon," Takumi replied.

"…"

"Sasuke?"

"Well to be honest I really don't feel like going back to my empty apartment," he sighed, glancing away.

"Do you want me to come with you? I could show you my songs… We could work on them, you know…" he shrugged and made a little smile.

"Sure," Sasuke smiled back.

One hour later, they were sitting at the small dining table together in Sasuke's apartment. Takumi was playing guitar to show him the melodies that went with his lyrics, and at some point Sasuke went to sit at his piano to try adding some music of his own.

Takumi's songs were very dark and sad, even more than Sasuke's perhaps. Takumi didn't want Kimiko back, so in his songs he mostly talked about how destructive the relationship had been for him, and how he hated her but still loved her at the same time... Whereas Sasuke, of course, wanted nothing more than win Naruto back with his words. But the two styles fit well together, and they would definitely use some of Takumi's songs as well on Chidori's second record.

It was getting really late, and Takumi decided to go back home. With his new job assured, he had decided to get a small apartment of his own. It was tiny, as he told Sasuke, but comfy and perfect for him. Sasuke smiled and told him to take care of himself, and that they would see each other on Monday to continue recording.

When he was left alone he tried to sleep, but it just wasn't working. His body was tired, but his mind was restless. So he kept working on some songs, and practicing, and even singing a little. He was aware that he was obsessed, but he couldn't help it…

Late in the night, a phone call interrupted him as he was practicing at the piano. It was from Itachi.

"Hey nii-san."

"Hey, I've got big news."

"I'm all ears." Sasuke said as he sat on the couch.

"I'm moving to Tokyo, and I'll be living really close to you."

Sasuke's dark eyes widened slightly and his lips twitched into a smile even though Itachi couldn't see him. "That's… that's great, you have no idea how happy that makes me. I take it you're moving alone…?"

"Yeah I took care of everything really fast… Sakura cries a lot and I don't think she's doing too well, but her parents, and even Ka-san, help her. Father just told me he wasn't happy with the way I lived, but that at least I was running the company really well and that he was proud because it's doing better than ever…"

"All he cares about is the damn company…" Sasuke muttered.

"Yeah… and he said that I should find another good woman to start a family, so that I could have a son and that he could take over the company and so on so forth…"

"Wow…" Sasuke chuckled sarcastically. "It's really all he cares about."

"Yeah that's how we're different, you know? I realized I like my job, and I have big ambitions and all, but that's not my life. Well, I don't want it to be, anyway… It's not all I care about. I care about you… I care about… actually having a life, maybe, eventually…"

"You will, nii-san," Sasuke laughed, "don't worry about that. I'll introduce you to some people if you want. My new agent seems nice enough, maybe you'd like her…"

"Don't play match makers for me. Just don't," Itachi sighed, "that'd make me so pathetic…"

"I just wanted to hear your reaction," Sasuke teased him.

"Foolish little brother." Itachi said, "So how're you doing? If you tell me you've taken drugs again, I swear I might have to kill you."

"You'd never do that," Sasuke teased him some more. "You love me too much."

"Don't talk like that it freaks me out. It's so unlike us Uchiha…"

"I think I'm really tired…" Sasuke chuckled. "And I'm in a good mood because you're coming to live here. When is that, by the way?"

"Next week. Besides, it will be better for me to run the company from Tokyo. I won't have to spend my whole life on the road for every important meeting at least…"

"Yeah..."

"But answer my question Sasuke I'm serious… You avoided it."

"I haven't taken any drugs, Itachi."

"Well good," he replied on a serious tone, "because if you do, I swear…"

"You'll kill me, I get it. Actually I'm gonna stop drinking too, now."

"Great!"

"And I've started writing again… but hey why don't we wait and talk about all this in person?"

"Right," Itachi agreed, "Well I can't wait… I think it will be great to spend more time together."

"Definitely, yeah…"

"Good night then, I'll see you soon!"

"Good night 'tachi," Sasuke smiled as he hung up.

- Chidori -

It was the first day of November, and Naruto was really stressed out because it was the beginning of the shooting. He wasn't part of it yet though, they were starting with Ariane's scenes; the beginning of the story consisted of her running away from her forced husband, getting lost and in danger, and getting picked up by a club owner – played by Kakashi, actually. He had told Naruto he loved to play small parts in his own movies.

Naruto couldn't be on the studio to watch those scenes get filmed, because he was currently moving in with Sai. The latter didn't own a car, but he had been nice enough to rent one for the day, so that they could move all of Naruto's things from the hotel to his apartment. They had also stopped on the way to a furniture store to buy a bedside table and a dresser in which to put some of his clothes. Sai already had a comfortable enough sofa bed which he could use; so the living room was kind of becoming his bedroom. But that was what Sai wanted.

"I never use the living room anyway," he shrugged as he helped Naruto with the new furniture.

"You sure?" the blond frowned, glancing around at the rather small kitchen, bathroom and bedroom.

"Yeah most of the time I'm in my bedroom… I bought the television for Jamie, actually…"

"Oh, okay," Naruto nodded slowly, "but he told me you were looking for a roommate, is that true or did you accept just because it was me?"

"…"

"I'm really just curious, but you don't have to answer…" Naruto scratched the back of his head, a little uncomfortable.

"Let's just say that I wanted a roommate, but that I was really, really difficult. I didn't want some idiot to share my apartment."

"Am I not an idiot?" Naruto laughed lightly.

"You can be one sometimes," Sai made a little smile, which was rare. "So let's set some rules. I want the place to stay clean at all times. I don't care if you use the kitchen, but don't ever leave it in a mess, I really hate that. Same for the bathroom, don't leave like, used towels lying on the floor…"

"I've got it Sai," he chuckled. "I'm used to living with a neat freak…"

"Why did you break up anyway?" the raven inquired as he sat on the sofa bed.

Naruto imitated him, "Well… I just…" he hesitated.

"You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to," Sai shrugged.

"I'm not ready," the blond admitted. "Maybe another time…"

"Okay." Sai got up again, "I'm gonna make us some lunch, are you hungry?"

"God, yes, I'm starving," Naruto smiled, thankful for the change of subjects.

That was why he had decided to live with Sai. He was never too annoying, he never insisted too much… and that was what Naruto needed at the moment. Someone to just share an apartment with, that was it, not necessarily talk or open up all the time…

Sai had taken the day off at his work – which was still karate sensei for kids – but he decided to go practice in the afternoon. Naruto decided to go with him. He knew he should be practicing his lines for the next day, but he knew them all by heart anyway. Actually he knew pretty much the whole script by heart. He had read it so many times. He actually thought it was a beautiful story. Especially the scene between Ryan and Kayla, the two main characters, when they just spent the whole night together and fell in love at first sight, it was really romantic and he liked the dialogues between the two… But he didn't have to worry about that, his part was much simpler.

He enjoyed practicing with Sai; it helped him clear his mind. He wasn't thinking about anything, he wasn't stressed out, he was just fighting. Sai was much better than him of course, but he tried to defend himself as much as he could.

"You're not that bad," Sai told him.

"Thanks," Naruto replied.

But a few seconds later he got hit and fell to the floor.

"Are you okay?" Sai asked him, worried, as he offered a hand.

Naruto took it and got back on his feet. "Yeah, I'm just not used to it anymore. But it's coming back…"

They practiced for another hour, and then they took a shower. The locker room was empty because Sai had chosen a gym in which he knew there wasn't any class at the moment. So they just took their time, showering in separate stalls of course, and then they got dressed and went outside to take the bus. Checking his cell, Naruto saw that he had tons of missed calls, all from Karin.

So he called her back and asked her what was going on.

"Thank God Naruto! You finally called me back! Look, this is probably gonna sound crazy and rushed and you can totally refuse if you want…"

"Just spit it out!" Naruto laughed.

"Could you play Ryan's part in the movie?"

Naruto's blue eyes widened and he didn't answer at first.

"Is everything okay?" Sai asked, standing beside him at the bus stop.

"Yeah I just…"

"Did you say yes? I didn't hear you properly."

"Oh, hum, sorry I was talking to Sai. But… do you think I can do it?"

"Yes! I think you'd be great! You just need to work hard and I'm sure you can. Besides, it would save us a lot of trouble, actually…"

"Why? Where's the so-called famous actor that was supposed to do it?"

"He cancelled last minute… He's been offered another project in LA so obviously he turned us off…"

"Oh… that sucks… Hum… I'mma do it," he finally said.

"Really?"

"Yeah!" he said more firmly. "I can do the part. I'm sure I can!"

"Good! Just text me Sai's address, and I'll pick you up tomorrow at 6 am!"

"WHAT?"

"And make sure you know your lines for the first scene. Anthony already agreed to play your old part. Bye Naruto, thanks again!"

And she hung up.

"Who the hell is Anthony?" he muttered to himself.

Sai grabbed his arm and dragged him in the bus, because Naruto was too shocked to move on his own.

"Are you gonna tell me what's going on?"

"I think I'm gonna be the lead actor in a movie," he chuckled.

"You think?"

"Yeah…"

Sai made a little smile as he looked at him. "Well, congratulations. They won't regret it. You're always good at everything you do. Not necessarily because you're talented, but because you're so stubborn that eventually, you become good."

"That last part wasn't really necessary Sai but… thanks," he replied.

After that they went quiet and Naruto looked out the window at the raining and cold day in Kyoto. But the weather wasn't enough to depress him; this opportunity was unbelievable. He couldn't wait to get back to the apartment and start practicing his lines…

But that night, in his bed, he wasn't thinking about the lines he had practiced so much, or the part, or the movie, or about being Sai's roommate… No, he was thinking about Sasuke. What was he doing now? Was he doing better at least, and had they found a new guitarist for the band? Were they doing a second record? Naruto never read the magazines and never watched television, so he wasn't aware of what was going on with the music industry, or famous people…

But most of all he wondered if Sasuke was thinking about him. Was he still in love with him? Because Naruto sure was; his feelings were constantly haunting him, crushing him… But he couldn't go back to Sasuke. Not after everything that had happened… It could never be the same…

A/N:

First of all thank you for reading & reviewing guys you're awesome.

I'm sorry about last chapter. Not because of what happened - it's relevant to the story - but because some of you were grossed out I guess... I suppose it should have been less detailed. So sorry about that. And also, this was the first time that Sasuke was cheating on Naruto. I guess this wasn't clear enough, and I'm sorry about that too. Yes, he had kissed other people, and danced with other people, but he had never had sex with any of them before. I'm not saying this makes him a better person or anything, I just wanted to make it clear. Since it's his first time sleeping with someone else, it's kind of another wake up call for him, and now he really, truly wants to change.

So yeah I do realize I've made some mistakes - hence this big ass author's note lol - and I'm sorry about that, I hope you continue reading and enjoying this story. To give you an idea of what's coming, here's a preview of the next chapter,

Chapter 21 – Bittersweet memories

3 months later

The young journalist was smiling at Sasuke excitedly, completely ignoring the three other members of the band.

"Would you say this record, Bittersweet memories, is a lot different than your first one?" She asked.

Sasuke ran pale fingers through his recently cut raven hair, and gave his answer. "I'd say it's darker – well, the lyrics, anyway. There's more keyboard, more instruments mixing. It's similar, but our sound has improved, well I hope so anyway." He chuckled, a small smile on his lips.

The journalist was melting before him. "So t-the fans want to know, Sasuke-kun, do you have a… a girlfriend?" She stuttered.

"No I'm single." He replied and her smile widened.

"Oh, so, my next question…"

Shizune interrupted the interview. "Sorry, but time's out!"

"Thank God." Kiba muttered.

They followed their agent all the way to the back of the little bar they had rented for the release party of their second album.

"Oh, so you didn't like standing there and being ignored either?" Suigetsu said sarcastically. "I thought I was the only one!"


	21. Bittersweet memories

Chidori

Chapter 21 – Bittersweet memories

3 months later

The young journalist was smiling at Sasuke excitedly, completely ignoring the three other members of the band.

"Would you say this record, Bittersweet memories, is a lot different than your first one?" She asked.

Sasuke ran pale fingers through his recently cut raven hair, and gave his answer. "I'd say it's darker – well, the lyrics, anyway. There's more keyboard, more instruments mixing. It's similar, but our sound has improved, well I hope so anyway." He chuckled, a small smile on his lips.

The journalist was melting before him. "So t-the fans want to know, Sasuke-kun, do you have a… a girlfriend?" She stuttered.

"No I'm single." He replied and her smile widened.

"Oh, so, my next question…"

Shizune interrupted the interview. "Sorry, but time's out!"

"Thank God." Kiba muttered.

They followed their agent all the way to the back of the bar they had rented for the release party of their second album.

"Oh, so you didn't like standing there and being ignored either?" Suigetsu said sarcastically. "I thought I was the only one!"

Takumi was the only one who wasn't complaining. "I'm used to it." He shrugged, "You think we were asked questions in interviews with The black souls? No, it was just Kimi. And they were always the same damn questions. Do you like Sasuke? Are you his girlfriend? How is it singing with him? How is he like?"

Sasuke cut him. "We get it, Takumi."

"I bet she answered all sorts of bullshit." Suigetsu laughed, then imitated Kimiko's high pitched voice, "Oh yes I'm his girlfriend, and he's so wonderful, we're so in love!"

"Worst thing is," Takumi sighed, "you're not far from the truth my friend."

Sasuke made no comment and tried not to die of humiliation.

"Time for the show guys!" Shizune told them back stage, "Remember, you're filmed and diffused live on various TV channels, and watched throughout Japan of course, but also internationally on the internet through the official website."

"No pressure guys, no pressure," Kiba chuckled.

"Who's filming us for the website?" Suigetsu asked, curious.

"Konan," Shizune answered.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" The silver-haired guy asked, frowning, "She's probably gonna end up filming Yahiko in the crowd or something."

"Well…" Shizune started, but her boss appeared behind her.

"What the hell are you still doing here?" Tsunade shouted angrily. "Get your emo asses on stage! Now!"

"I'm not emo." Kiba protested in a little voice.

"Try again when you don't have black hair, eyeliner and skinny jeans! Now go!"

They did as they were told, and the little crowd cheered as loudly as humanly possible. It consisted of their friends and family, their recording team, the band Akatsuki, the former members of The black souls, some fans that had won VIP passes and the press of course.

Sasuke was nervous. Not because he was about to perform live, no, that he was used to, and actually it felt really good to be back on a stage, even if it was just for a few songs.

He was nervous because they had sent an invitation to Karin and Naruto to assist the party. For now they were nowhere to be seen, but they could very well be late if they had taken a flight from Kyoto. Sasuke hadn't seen Naruto in more than three months now…

He shook his head clear, and, listening to his band mates playing, he waited and focused, and then started singing…

_Here is no one left to trust_

_Raise a light, one that I can see_

_Now reverse this enormous pain_

_For this life to remain…_

While Suigetsu was singing – more like screaming – Sasuke noticed Itachi had gotten there. He had been a little late because of work – it was a week night after all – but he was here now, and they exchanged a little discreet smile. Sasuke turned his gaze to the rest of the crowd as he continued singing.

_Hold me close, this is what I see, emptiness in me_

_This is how I feel, this is what is real_

_I can't move back (What is now turning black)_

_I can't replace (What is being erased)_

The crowd cheered for their sound, their energy, and of course Sasuke's voice. He had been clean and sober for months now, and his voice and presence on stage was much better than at the last shows of their summer tour.

Like Tsunade had mentioned, they all pretty much had an emo style, even Kiba hadn't escaped the stylists. But his spiky black hair with bright red streaks looked really good, and he was wearing skinny jeans with a black t-shirt. As for Suigetsu, he would probably never change his style; sleek silver hair, striped violet and black tank top and black skinny jeans. Takumi's black hair was longer and he was wearing it loose, he had snake bite piercings on his lower lip now, as well as his eyebrow piercing, his outfit was all black and his guitar was vibrant blue and black. As for Sasuke, his hair was shorter, barely touching his shoulders now and the back was a little spiky – his stupid hair just did that – with bangs framing his face. His outfit consisted of pale skin tight jeans and a black v-neck shirt with sleeves up to his elbows.

_I crawl my way through every day_

_Raise your light (One that glows for me)_

_Give me a sign, light my path__ take me higher_

_I am walking through fire_

_Standing alone, abandoned by fate_

_Walk me through, this is what I see, emptiness in me_

_This is how I feel, this is what is real_

_I can't move back (What is now turning black)_

_I can't replace (What is being erased, being erased)_

He kept looking around the room, hoping and fearing at the same time that Naruto would show up. If Karin came it would be nice too; Suigetsu missed her so much. But they weren't there… He could see Kimiko; she was standing right beside Yoshikazu and Ino. Those two were still together, and Yoshi was doing well, according to what Sasuke had heard; he was giving guitar lessons, and he also had a stable job in the music band of a bar that offered rock shows every weekend. As for Ino she had started studying fashion and clothing design and a very promising career was awaiting her. Kimiko hadn't been that lucky though. Her attempts to pursue a solo career weren't working so well. She didn't play any instruments, and she couldn't write songs either, so it wasn't that easy.

Jugo and Hinata, faithful friends of Sasuke – and fans of Chidori – had also made it. They were smiling and clearly enjoying the song. Hiroshi and Deidara were right in front of the stage, cheering with the rest of the fans, the bassist, Hidan, was staying a little behind with Shizune and Tsunade, and Yahiko was staying close to Konan as she was filming. So far she seemed to be resisting the urge to film her beloved boyfriend instead of the band on stage…

_Is this all that's left for me?_

_Hold me close, this is what I see, emptiness in me_

_This is how I feel, this is what is real_

_I can't move back (What is now fading black)_

_I can't replace (What is being erased)_

_This is what I see, emptiness in me_

_This is how I feel, this is what is real_

_I can't move back (What is now fading black)_

_I can't replace (What is being erased)_

The crowd exploded in applauds and cheerful screams and Sasuke thanked them warmly. The song they had just performed had been written by him, but the next song's lyrics were Takumi's, and he informed their audience of that detail. The title was also the same as the name of the record.

As Sasuke listened to the drums and guitar, he glanced around in the room again – but still no sign of Naruto or Karin…

_You turn me off by the push of a button,_

_Then you pretend that I don't mean nothing_

_I'm not a saint, that's easy to tell,_

_But guess what, honey, you ain't no angel._

_You like to scream these words as a weapon,_

_Well go ahead__ take your best shot, woman._

_I wanna leave you it's easy to see,_

_But guess what, honey, it's not that easy._

_We get so complicated. (Complicated!)_

_These fingers full of memories._

_So rip my pictures from your wall._

_Tear them down, burn them all._

_Light the fire, walk away._

_There's nothing left to say so_

_Take the ashes from the floor,_

_Bury them to just make sure_

_That nothing more is left of me._

_Just bittersweet memories_

_Memories… ahh…_

_I wanna run and escape from your prison,_

_But when I leave I feel like something's missing_

_I'm not afraid, that's easy to tell_

_This can't be heaven, feels like I'm in hell._

_You're like a drug that I can't stop taking._

_I want more and I can't stop craving._

_I still want you it's easy to see,_

_But guess what honey, you're not that good for me._

_We get so complicated (Complicated!)_

_These fingers full of memories_

_So rip my pictures from your wall,_

_Tear them down, burn them all_

_Light the fire, walk away_

_There's nothing left to say so_

_Take the ashes from the floor,_

_Bury them to just make sure_

_That nothing more is left of me,_

_Just bittersweet memories_

_Just bittersweet memories_

Sasuke smiled as their friends and fans cheered for them once more. But this had been just a preview of the real shows. So he thanked them again, and then Shizune walked on stage and took the mike from him. He let her willingly – he had never been one for long speeches.

"Give it up once more for Chidori!" she said and the crowd, of course, exploded again. "The record Bittersweet memories is available tomorrow! But as a special tonight you can get your autographed copy right here, in the hall! Thank you all for coming, and enjoy your evening!"

Technicians helped them clear the stage, and the dj hired for the night put on some dance music for the party.

Kiba and Suigetsu made a run for it, going to see their friends and families that had come to see them. As for Takumi and Sasuke; they took their time. Takumi didn't have any family, and Sasuke had Itachi, but since he lived in Tokyo now they saw each other really often.

"Do you think they liked the songs, or they were just being nice because they're our friends mostly?" Takumi asked, chuckling.

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "They liked it. You worry too much."

"Why'd you tell them they were my lyrics?" he asked and Sasuke stopped walking. "I didn't want _her_ to know that."

"You're aware it's gonna be written in the album right?" Sasuke raised a fine black eyebrow.

Takumi glanced away. "Yeah but… I'm sure she's not gonna buy it."

"And I'm convinced she will," he replied. "Come on, let's go with the others. Don't stay here sulking on your own because you're too scared to see her!"

Sasuke grabbed his friend's arm and dragged him along. He went to see Itachi first, and Takumi left him to go talk to Hiroshi.

"That was great! I liked the first song better though," Itachi smiled.

"Well, it was written by me so," Sasuke said half-teasing.

"Little prick," his older brother teased him, but then he frowned slightly, "Is everything all right? You seem nervous."

"I'm fine it's just…" he muttered as he glanced around the room again, "I was wondering… did you see… Karin, or…?"

"No I didn't see them," Itachi replied sadly. "Sorry, I don't think they're gonna come."

"Yeah…"

"Hey I'm sorry but I gotta head back," the older Uchiha sighed, glancing at the time on his cell, "it's getting late and…"

"You have work tomorrow," Sasuke finished for him, "I know," he smiled.

"See you later all right?"

Sasuke's smile disappeared as he watched his brother walk away. Takumi was with Hiroshi and Deidara, Kiba with Sarah, Suigetsu with his family that had come from Konoha to see them play, and Sasuke felt lonely…

He had been nervous since Suigetsu had told him Karin and Naruto had been part of the invitations list. And that was two weeks ago. All the anticipation, the anxiety… all that for nothing. Hell, he had even tried to prepare a stupid speech to tell Naruto, overall it pretty much said, 'hey, I'm clean now, I've been for a while, I've written all those sappy love songs for you, so would you please take me back now?'

Of course he wouldn't have said that. He had no idea what he would've said, actually. But he would surely have come up with something, anything… He sighed and headed to the bar, even though he didn't drink anymore. But Jugo was there and he wanted to at least thank him for coming.

"Hey man," the red-head smiled when he saw him.

"Hey," he smiled back as he leaned on the counter.

"I was gonna get some beer for Hinata and for me, do you want one too?" he asked.

"No, thanks," he declined.

Jugo ordered and they talked a little bit as they waited. Hinata was sitting at a table nearby with Kiba, Sarah, Yoshikazu and Ino.

"The songs were great, I can't wait to hear the whole record," Jugo said honestly.

"Thanks man, I appreciate," Sasuke nodded slightly.

"So how are you doing?"

"I'm… fine I guess. Better. You?"

"I'm doing great," Jugo shrugged, "Hinata's all I ever dreamed for," he added as he glanced at her fondly.

"I'm really happy for you, and sorry again for being all drugged up for your wedding," he said in a low, shameful voice.

Jugo grabbed the beers and started walking towards the tables, "I told you, it's okay, it's in the past now. I'm just glad you're doing better." He stopped and glanced back when he realized Sasuke wasn't following, "You're not joining us?"

"I'm sorry I think I'm gonna go home. I'm really tired," he said apologetically, "you enjoy the party all right?"

"You sure you're okay?" his friend frowned slightly.

"Yeah don't worry 'bout it," he made a little smile, "see you man."

"Yeah, take care," Jugo smiled back.

He sighed, quickly returned back stage to grab his black coat, shoved his hands in his pockets and walked out of the bar, barely glancing at the little improvised store where they sold both their records and some t-shirts too.

He shivered and pulled his coat tighter around his thin body as he walked in the cold February night. He could've just taken a cab, it wasn't like he didn't have enough money, but he felt like walking. He needed to clear his head, and also to stop obsessing about Naruto…

Easier said than done, he chuckled to himself darkly. As he walked faster on the sidewalk, trying to get a little warmer, he couldn't help but feel disappointed that Naruto hadn't showed up. He hadn't admitted it to himself before, but he had really been hoping to see him, and maybe, just maybe, become friends again, start over…

But no, of course he hadn't showed up. He was filming a movie; what had Sasuke been thinking anyway? How foolish of him, he thought bitterly. Naruto probably had a new boyfriend now. Maybe he had gotten back with Sai.

These dark thoughts made his heart sank… his heart that was broken and couldn't be fixed. It started snowing, and he closed his eyes for a moment, letting warm tears roll down his cheeks.

- Chidori -

The ringing of his cell phone woke Sasuke up from a well deserved morning of lazy over sleeping, and he growled as he checked the caller id. Tsunade… he'd better answer it.

"Hello?"

"Oh did I wake you up? Sorry." She said without waiting for his answer, and without sounding sorry at all. "Don't hate me, I'm actually calling to congratulate you this time!"

"Really?" He raised a brow as he sat up slowly.

They had a particular relationship with Tsunade; they had started off hating each other with a passion, but eventually they had gotten around, and they respected each other very much now.

"Yeah," she insisted, "the stores have only been opened a few hours, and the sells of the record are already very good! They're also probably already downloading it illegally on the internet, but oh well, record industry these days… Anyway, just to tell you that you did an amazing work on this record! Your three band mates too, of course, but I chose to call you only, partly because I saw you leave the party early, whereas they left at 4 am…"

"Oh," he chuckled, "well, I suppose I'll pass the message then."

"Good! Enjoy your few weeks of freedom, but as you know the tour dates will be announced soon!"

"Yeah I know, thanks Tsunade," he replied.

"No problem. And don't be so familiar you little brat," she said this almost fondly, and it made him smile as they hung up.

Sasuke fell back in his bed. His useless, empty king-sized bed. The apartment was the same as when Naruto had left. He hadn't changed anything. The furniture and blue paint on the wall were the same, the posters of their favourite metal bands and inspiration were still there…

He stared at the ceiling, unable to fall asleep again. He wondered if Naruto would even listen to the album. If he'd hear of it and be curious… if he'd listen to the songs, if he'd read the descriptions saying who composed the lyrics…

If Naruto was even thinking about him, at all…

- Chidori -

Try pretending to have sex with all those people and cameras watching all around you, Naruto thought nervously. They were in a room in a four star hotel in Kyoto, filming one of the last scenes of the movie – a sex scene. Oh it wasn't the first one; Kakashi's movie was full of them.

"More passionate, Naruto!" Kakashi insisted. "You have to touch her, to show me, and the audience, how much you love her – well, your character, anyway. Just like last time, you were really into it!"

Naruto closed his eyes. Like last time, huh? He fantasised about Sasuke, the way he was before. His mid-length raven hair, pale, flawless skin, toned and lean body, superior smirk, playful… but needy at the same time… Sasuke…

"Yes! That's good! That's really good!" Kakashi exclaimed. "Say her name."

"Kayla," he said in a voice as sensual as he could.

She arched her back, "Ryan," she moaned.

She was really good. It felt as if Naruto was actually fucking her; that's how good she was at faking.

"And now for the finale," Kakashi told them expectantly.

Fifteen minutes later the technicians and cameramen were cleaning up, and Naruto and Ariane were still in the bed, out of breath. Who knew pretending to have sex was actually very demanding?

"That was so weird!" she exclaimed, turning to look at him with deep green eyes, "Knowing you were thinking about a guy as you kissed me!" she laughed.

"Well," he said defensively, "Weren't you thinking about another guy as well?"

"No, most of the time when doing scenes like that I have to, but you're hot enough," she winked playfully, "So who's the guy?"

"Get dressed guys," Kakashi told them, "We're done."

"Yeah, yeah," Ariane started getting dressed, and Kakashi's gaze lingered on her a little longer than necessary.

Naruto also got up and put his jeans, shirt and black hoodie back on.

"I don't have the whole day guys," Kakashi said, leaning in the doorframe.

"Says the one who's always late in the morning," Ariane muttered.

"I heard that!"

The grey-haired man waited for them to be out of the room, then locked it and went to give the key back at the main desk in the hall. Naruto and Ariane followed him lazily.

"I'm curious Naruto, I wanna know who's the guy of your dreams?" Ariane insisted.

They had developed a rather unique friendship. They had spent a lot of time together because of the movie, and they had become each other's confident. Probably because they didn't have any friend in common, they just felt free to tell each other everything, without being afraid of being judged. Naruto had always stayed very private about his love life though.

"My ex-boyfriend," he finally admitted.

"Oh," she said thoughtfully, "what was he like?"

Kakashi spoke before he could answer, "Not that I don't want to hear the details about your love life Naruto, but I gotta run! See you guys tomorrow!"

"But tomorrow's Saturday!" Ariane complained, "Can't we have the weekend off for once?"

"You'll have the weekends off when the movie's finished!" He smiled behind his mask and left in a hurry.

"Do you want to come over to my place?" Ariane suggested as they left the hotel.

"Sure!" he smiled.

They did this quite often; she didn't like being alone in her tiny apartment and he didn't like being alone with Sai. His constant flirting was starting to get on Naruto's nerves.

So with Ariane they liked to just hang out, talk, watch movies, practice their lines and simply laugh together.

They took a cab because it was too cold to walk, and when they got there Ariane paid and they hurried inside. It was a flat with only one room and a bathroom, so she had a sofa bed, and much like Naruto the living room was also her bedroom. It was small, but it was only for a little while so she didn't mind.

"So you didn't actually tell me how your ex-boyfriend was like," she asked as she opened the fridge to see if there was anything edible in there.

"Ariane," he whined, sitting on her unmade sofa bed, "you know I don't like to talk about those things!"

"Oh come on! Don't be shy!" she glanced at him, "I tell you about my exes all the time! You'll see, it's good to talk about it." She glanced back at the fridge, then back at him again, "Should I order some pizza?"

"Yeah!" Naruto smiled.

While they waited for the food, sitting on her bed together, Naruto successfully avoided her questions and instead they ended up talking about the movie.

"… No it _is_ a good love story. I'm not saying it isn't, but it's just not realistic, like at all!"

"How?" Naruto frowned.

"When Karin first told me about this movie, I didn't have the script yet, so I did my little research. She explained the story quickly, but I knew my character was drugged in some of the scenes, you know, when she's dancing at the club…"

"Yeah?" Naruto encouraged her.

She crossed her arms. "Well, assuming it's heroin, or maybe something even stronger, it's not that easy to stop!"

"I know that much," he replied, "you're addicted, and it makes you feel good…"

"No, you don't understand," she shook her head, some strands of curly black hair falling into her face, which she put behind her ears in annoyance, "When they run away together, it's just romantic, and fun, and crazy, and she's just fine, she's got no symptoms!"

"Symptoms?" Naruto frowned.

"Yeah! Withdrawal symptoms; fever, throwing up, scratching, sweating, name them! Most of the time people require medical assistance. It's no joke…"

"Wait…" Naruto suddenly felt sick, "You mean, heroin addicts have all those symptoms if they… if they stop?"

"Yeah!" she exclaimed, "I did my research, I wanted to prepare for the role, you know? But then I read the final version of the script, and there's no mention of symptoms whatsoever. And according to the story, my character's been constantly drugged up for at least a month! So I told Kakashi it didn't make sense, and he told me it didn't matter and that people would come to see me being hot and sexy, not sick and throwing up everywhere. He's got a point, you know, but still, it could've been romantic, maybe, if Ryan helped her go through that rough moment, it could've made their relationship even stronger, more intense… And personally I was looking forward to this challenge, as an actress, so I was a little disappointed. Playing sex scenes sure is fun but… Naruto, are you even listening to me?" she suddenly stopped her ramblings and frowned, worried, "Are you all right?"

"Y-yeah, sorry I… I'll be right back…"

He stormed outside without even picking up his coat. He wasn't feeling well. He was thinking about Sasuke, of course. He hadn't done much research, back then. He had just constantly given Sasuke shit for not stopping taking his drugs… Instead he could've informed himself, actually find ways to help him stop… Some tears rolled down his cheeks as he sat in the stairs, pulling his black hoodie tighter.

He hadn't even made any efforts to try to understand what Sasuke was going through. He hadn't been there with him when he had decided to stop… And of course Sasuke hadn't asked for his help, but that was just how he was – Sasuke never asked anyone for help…

Suddenly the door opened, and he heard his friend's voice. He quickly wiped off his tears, got up and turned to smile at her.

"Are you insane? It's freezing out here," she grabbed his arm and tugged him inside. "Are you gonna tell me what's wrong?"

"Nothing I… I knew someone," he said slowly, "who was a heroin addict and… I just thought about him and it made me sad. But it's okay," he shrugged and made a little smile.

"Poor baby," she pulled him into a hug, "come on," she led him to her apartment. "Let's watch a stupid, old ninja movie or something."

"Yeah," he chuckled, "I'd like that. Enough talking about love and sappy stuff."

"Damn right," she smiled as she fumbled through the little collection of movies she had brought from her home in France.

Their pizza arrived soon after, and they sat comfortably in front of her laptop, just watching the movie on the little screen, eating, talking and just making random comments about the movie and laughing together. In the back of his mind though, Naruto kept thinking about Sasuke, and he longed for him more than ever now, and if he were completely honest with himself, he would say that he regretted leaving him when he was so vulnerable and just really needed help…

Songs:

Erased, by Dead by april

Bittersweet memories, by Bullet for my valentine


	22. Thinking of you

Chidori

Chapter 22 – Thinking of you

Naruto was hanging out at Ariane's place again, and this time Anthony was there too. He was the actor playing Sean's part – the one Naruto was supposed to play in the beginning – and he was as crazy and hyperactive as his character. They had just gone through a rough day of filming though, and for once Anthony didn't feel like partying with his friends, and instead he had decided to spend a quiet evening with them.

"I'm so tired!" He exclaimed as he let himself fall on Ariane's bed – which was unmade as always.

Naruto took place at the small table with Ariane. "It was so long today… I thought it'd never end…"

"I know!" She chuckled, "we had to do so many takes… but that was your fault guys! Honestly, you kept laughing at Kakashi!"

Naruto burst out laughing even as he just remembered the grey-haired man acting as the evil owner of the club in the movie. They'd had to do the scene where they sneak in his office to steal back Kayla's papers and few belongings, and actually Kakashi wasn't that bad an actor, Naruto just had a hard time picturing him as an evil person.

"It was funny!" Anthony exclaimed, voicing his thoughts. "It was though doing the part where I get shot though…"

"Hey don't complain man!" Naruto sighed heavily. "Your character gets shot in the arm, and mine gets shot in the freaking ribs!"

"All right guys, no more talking about work!" Ariane laughed as she got up and went to ruffle Anthony's short brown hair fondly. "Making yourself comfortable aren't ya?"

"I'm tired." He whined.

"Hmm… oh I know! I'm gonna make you listen to this new record I bought! Although you've probably heard it already Naruto…"

"Why do you say that?" He frowned slightly.

She ignored his question and started the music on her already opened laptop, which she put down in front of her on the table.

"This is my favourite one." She said simply.

Naruto's heart started beating faster as he recognized Sasuke's voice. It sounded so beautiful…

The melody, the instruments, everything was beautiful, but so sad, about this song…

_You never go, you're always here_

_Suffocating me, under my skin_

_I cannot run away_

_Fading slowly_

_I'd give it all to you_

_Letting go of me_

_Reaching as I fall_

_I know it's already over now_

_Nothing left to lose_

_Loving you again_

_I know it's already over, already over now_

_My best defense, running from you_

_Cost me every, cost me everything_

_I can't resist, take all you want from me_

_Breaking slowly_

_I'd give it all to you_

_Letting go of me_

_Reaching as I fall_

_I know it's already over now_

_Nothing left to lose_

_Loving you again_

_I know it's already over, already over now_

_You're all I'm reaching for_

_It's already over_

_All I'm reaching for_

_It's already over now_

_I'd give it all to you_

_I'd offer up my soul_

_It's already over, already over now_

_I'd give it all to you_

_Letting go of me_

_Reaching as I fall_

_I know it's already over now_

_Nothing left to lose_

_Loving you again_

_I know it's already over now_

_It's already over now_

_I know it's already over, already over _

It was so intense, and Sasuke's voice sounded really great. And the lyrics, the piano melody, all of that was from Sasuke, it had to be, and Naruto knew it was destined to him, somehow he knew.

"It's really sad," Anthony sat up, "I mean it's not really my type of music but it's true, it's beautiful."

Another song was starting, but Ariane stopped the music when she noticed Naruto's expression.

"What's wrong?"

God damn it, there he was, crying in front of her again. He wiped off his tears nervously.

"I'm sorry, I'm probably just really tired," he chuckled and tried to smile.

"I'm not buying it," she said, worried.

"Hey is it true that you were their guitarist before?" Anthony asked him.

"Yeah it's true," Naruto shrugged slightly.

"Is that why you're so moved?" Ariane asked softly. "Because you miss it?"

"I…" he said in a broken voice, "yeah… I didn't even know they had released a new record…"

"How come Karin didn't tell you?" She frowned. "She said you guys were invited to the party, but didn't know if she should go or not…"

"I gotta go." He suddenly said, picking up his coat and storming out of the apartment.

Ariane called after him, but he ignored her. As soon as he was outside he called Karin, walking quickly towards the nearest subway station.

"Hello?"

"Why didn't you tell me about the record, and the invitation?" he immediately asked angrily.

"…Look, Naruto, I didn't think it was a good idea to go to Tokyo right now… it was short notice, on a week night, you have the movie and everything, I didn't want you to lose your focus…"

"You should've told me!" He insisted, and once again the tears were threatening to fall. "And I'm not only being selfish here! Karin, they invited us! I know how much you miss Suigetsu! You could've seen him, talked to him…"

"I'm really busy these days," she replied, "it wasn't a good moment for me…"

"Anyway," he sighed, "I hope next time you'll tell me."

"I'm sorry, Naruto… I think I was afraid that you'd convince me to go…" she admitted.

"I know," he sighed again, "I know Karin, but we can't run away from them forever…"

"I gotta go, Naruto, I'm sorry... I'll call you back okay? And keep doing a great job on the movie!"

"Bye Karin," he whispered then hung up.

Before going to the apartment he shared with Sai, he stopped at a music store that was still open this late in the evening and bought Chidori's record, Bittersweet memories. It was kind of fucked up to buy a record of his own band. Well, it wasn't his band anymore… Sai had a small radio in the living room, so he'd borrow it to listen to the album.

Later, sitting in the train, he looked at the cover. For a while he just stared at it. His former band mates' appearances had changed, except for Suigetsu. And Takumi was Naruto's replacement of course. It made him sad, but somehow he felt better that it was Takumi, and not just some random wannabe guitarist. Sasuke looked really good. He looked handsome and dreamy actually. All those little fan girls and fan boys out there would be happy…

And Naruto missed him even more now. Seeing a picture of him, even though it was just a stupid album cover, made him long for Sasuke more than ever. He wasn't too skinny anymore, well he'd always been really thin but it looked good on him; he'd gone back to a more healthy weight that was for sure. His hair was shorter, with bangs and spikes in the back, and some dark blue streaks. Just like the very first time Naruto had met him back in Konoha…

As for his best friend Kiba – if he could still call him his best friend, they hadn't talked since forever – he definitely looked emo on the picture. Naruto chuckled to himself, thinking of how he would've made fun of him if he were still with them…

He sighed and put the record back in his little plastic bag. He couldn't wait to listen to it.

- Chidori -

Everyone applauded enthusiastically when Kakashi announced the last scene was perfect and that, well, they were finished! The cameramen, technicians, the whole team of actors, Kakashi of course, and even Karin and the team of stylists were smiling widely, proud of their hard work.

It was a Friday evening, and Anthony suggested that they all meet up later at a club downtown to celebrate. Most people thought it was a great idea – even Naruto and Ariane agreed to go this time. During the shooting they had been very professional, and hadn't wanted to be hungover or too tired. But now that their job was officially finished, they felt like going out with their friends for once.

But after he got home, Naruto didn't feel like going out anymore. His friends' enthusiasm had been contagious, but now, alone and sitting on his sofa bed, listening to Chidori's music again, he wasn't so sure he felt like partying. He just wanted to go to sleep with the music guiding his dreams, towards Sasuke of course…

But then the music stopped. Naruto looked up to meet Sai's cold black eyes.

"Stop sulking and listening to that damn whiny emo shit, it's getting on my nerves."

Naruto glanced away and didn't reply.

"Didn't you say you were going out with your stupid actor friends?" Sai asked.

"I changed my mind." He shrugged.

"I think we should go, the both of us," he said, "it's been forever since we went out together."

"I don't know…" the blond muttered.

"We're going." Sai said firmly. "I'm gonna go get ready. You should do the same."

He disappeared in the bathroom and a few seconds later Naruto heard the sound of the shower. He turned on the music again…

_Here is no one left to trust_

_Raise a light, one that I can see…_

He turned it off again and sighed, running his fingers through his messy blond hair. Maybe Sai was right, maybe he needed to go out for once…

- Chidori -

"This is awesome!" Naruto smiled as he danced with his beer in his hand. "I missed this!"

Sai was dancing beside him, and Anthony and his group of friends were also nearby, as well as Ariane and Karin. The club was crowded, the music was so loud that they probably hadn't heard his happy outburst, and Naruto had drunk a little too much beer.

But time passed and eventually everyone had dance partners. Ariane and Karin were dancing with two handsome Japanese young men and Anthony and the other guys had mixed with a group of girls who were at least as drunk as them.

So Naruto danced with Sai. It was just for fun at first, and they weren't even that close; Sai was appreciating his talent as a dancer as always.

But of course things heated up. Sai was stroking his hair, running his hands on his back, grinding, dancing more and more passionately...

"I'm sorry Sai, I…" Naruto tried to pull away softly.

But Sai held him close and kissed him.

He was shorter, his lips were too thin, his hair too short and not as soft, the sound of his moans different; everything reminded Naruto that the guy in his arms wasn't Sasuke.

And even though he was a little drunk, and had been craving physical contact and sex for a while, he pulled away firmly and walked away.

He leaned on the wall outside, and he had been so hot inside that even though the night was freezing and he was only wearing a thin shirt, he was fine. He sighed, relieved not to be in Sai's hold anymore. It had felt so wrong. He still loved Sasuke, he didn't doubt that anymore. He never had, anyway. But the question was, could something that had been so destructive be good again? And anyway, maybe Sasuke had moved on already. Or maybe he hadn't changed that much despite his songs. Maybe he was still living the life; parties, binge drinking, drugs, sex…

"Naruto! Are you okay?" Sai asked him worriedly.

Damn, he was crying again. He wiped off his tears in annoyance and ran shaky fingers through long blond locks.

"Here, put this on at least," Sai handed him his black hoodie that he had forgotten inside.

"Thanks." He said sincerely as he put it on. "Sai?"

"Yeah?" Sai leaned on the wall beside him.

"Why'd you break up with Jamie?"

"He broke up, not me." He corrected. "And why do you think?"

"Because you still love me?"

"You really are dense if you only figured that out just now." He made a little sad smile.

"And I still love Sasuke." The blond whispered, glancing away.

"I know." He replied sadly.

"I'm sorry… Should we go home?"

"Yeah." Sai walked beside him, his hands in his pockets and his pale face expressionless as always, despite the emotions that Naruto knew were troubling him. "And don't be sorry," he suddenly added.

"Well," he said hesitantly, "I feel like I shouldn't be living with you."

"It's okay." The raven shrugged slightly. "But you'll have to stop putting that damn music on my radio, seriously. I can't listen to that asshole's whiny voice anymore."Hhe said, and as always with Sai it was hard to tell if he was teasing or not.

"He has a beautiful voice. And he's not an asshole." The blond whispered.

"He must have been one if you had to break up." Sai pointed out.

"It's more complicated than that."

"It shouldn't be. You love someone or you don't."

Naruto was thoughtful for a moment, and then he replied, "Do you love Jamie?"

"…Yes."

"But you must have been an asshole if he had to break up." Naruto said with a little smile.

"Smart ass."

Naruto nudged him in the ribs playfully. "Race you home!"

They'd gone to a club nearby, so they were only a few blocks away from Sai's apartment. Naruto won the race because of his stamina and resistance to the cold. He smiled triumphantly, but then realized he had to wait anyway because Sai had the keys.

The raven chuckled when he got there and unlocked the door, but made no comment.

"I still won," Naruto muttered.

"Congratulations."

Naruto started to prepare the sofa bed, but Sai suddenly put his hand on his arm to stop his movements.

"Do you want to sleep in my room?"

"Uh… you sure?" Naruto hesitated.

"I just thought it'd be nice. I'm not gonna rape you…"

"All right…"

It turned out to be really nice indeed. They talked about everything and nothing – well Naruto talked and Sai listened mostly. And right before they went to sleep, each on their side of the bed, Naruto told him that he should try calling Jamie, maybe see him again, hang out…

"I'll think about it." Sai whispered tiredly.

"You really should." The blond insisted.

"Good night Naru."

"Don't call me that." He protested.

"Good night Naruto then."

"Night Sai."

- Chidori -

Sasuke was writing again. That was all he was doing of his days off since the release of the album. He read his emails once in a while, and he hung out with Itachi when he wasn't too busy running the company, but other than that he stayed in his empty and cold apartment and wrote in the notebook Naruto had given him. It was a little worn out now, and he was almost at the end. He had enough material for another record already… That was how inspired he was.

But tonight he would go out. Because it was February 18th, and Suigetsu's 20th birthday party, and he owed his best friend to at least be there, if not drinking and partying, at least he would spend time with him a little bit.

His lips twitched into a smile as he heard honking and screaming outside. He went at the window and shook his head in disbelief. These little fuckers had actually rented a limo for the night. By little fuckers he meant Suigetsu, Kiba and his girlfriend, and Hiroshi and Deidara – the professional partiers.

He had already taken a shower and gotten dressed in skin tight black jeans, white button shirt with sleeves rolled up at his elbows and a loose black tie, and he also had eyeliner around his eyes. So he just put on his black coat, picked up his keys, cell phone and left.

"Ah, Sasuke my man!" Suigetsu exclaimed. He had gotten out of the limo to hug Sasuke tightly.

"Get back in here it's freezing!" Kiba exclaimed, laughing.

They sat in the stylish car and the chauffeur drove away. There was loud dance music playing in the limo, and clearly none of them were sober.

"We had a little pre-cocktail party at my place." Suigetsu explained.

Hiroshi and Deidara were making out like crazy, their long raven and pale blond hair clashing as Hiroshi pulled his boyfriend even closer. As for Sarah, she was whispering the lyrics to the dance song currently playing, smiling, Kiba's strong arm placed firmly around her shoulders.

"I'm so glad you decided to come man." Suigetsu smiled drunkenly and rested his head on his shoulder. "Hmm your hair smells good."

"Yeah, yeah, don't make me regret it already." Sasuke chuckled, pushing him away.

"We still have to get Takumi, and then we're going dancing!" Kiba exclaimed, grinning.

Takumi turned out to be just as sober and reluctant to go as Sasuke, but he decided to join the party anyway. When they were all sitting in the limo, and on their way to Suigetsu's favorite night club, the guitarist addressed Suigetsu.

"Who else is gonna be there?" He asked, and it was obvious he wanted to know if his ex-girlfriend would be there or not.

"I invited a bunch of people on facebook." He shrugged. "Jugo said he couldn't make it. Karin didn't answer me as usual… Other than that I invited Kimi, Yoshi and Ino, Yahiko and Konan, Hidan, Shizune, Sasuke's brother but he can't make it either," he said glancing sideways at Sasuke, "and Naruto but he didn't answer me."

"I don't think he even has a laptop…" Sasuke told him.

"So? If Karin decides to come, she'll bring him along!" Suigetsu shrugged again.

"I guess." Sasuke muttered.

This time he hadn't put too much thought into it. He didn't want to have false hopes and be disappointed again. But Suigetsu kept mentioning it and it really wasn't helping… But the truth was, Suigetsu wanted to see Karin again just as much as he wanted to see Naruto…

At the club they had a VIP pass as usual – when you were famous they were really easy to get. They went to a private room and met with their friends who were already there.

Kimiko, Yoshikazu and Ino all wished a happy birthday to Suigetsu with a big smile, hugging him, and Yahiko, Konan and Hidan stayed a bit further since they didn't know him that well.

"Shizune couldn't make it." Konan informed them, shrugging. "So, Suigetsu, we took the initiative of ordering a bottle of their best sake to start the evening!"

They all sat on the comfortable benches around the low table. A waiter brought them more glasses and another bottle. Only Sasuke refused to drink.

"Happy birthday again man!" Kiba knocked his glass with Suigetsu's, and they emptied it at the same time.

"I think you're gonna beat a record for the number of toasts for your birthday Suigetsu." Sarah chuckled, putting her long dark hair behind her ears and leaning back against Kiba.

"Well..." The silver-haired guy shrugged helplessly, "It's not everyday you become major! Now I can go out and party! Isn't that awesome?"

Everyone burst out laughing, even Sasuke smiled; saying that Suigetsu was already a hardcore partier long before his twentieth birthday would have been an understatement.

Deidara and Hiroshi eventually interrupted their making out to drink and talk with the others. Takumi was also drinking, but he was being really quiet as usual; Sasuke could tell he was nervous because Kimiko was there. Actually she seemed a little nervous too, which was really unusual for her.

As everybody else was getting drunk, Sasuke had nothing better to do than to observe them, so he continued to do just that. Ino was sitting on Yoshi's lap, smiling and drinking quietly. Suigetsu and Kiba were getting more and more drunk out of their minds – but that was just normal. Kimiko was laughing and talking with them, and she was drinking a lot too, but there was still this nervousness in her big dark eyes as she kept glancing at Takumi from the other side of the table.

Konan and Yahiko were quite hardcore drinkers as well, but from what Sasuke had gathered they had went out the evening before too, so they were taking it easy. Hidan was sipping his sake like a normal person – not downing shot after shot like Suigetsu and Kiba – and talking about his religion again. Seriously, that guy was really weird. Sasuke listened to Deidara arguing with him about Jashin or something like that for a moment, but then he gave up trying to understand. Glancing at Hiroshi he saw that he didn't seem to give a shit either; he was just content to have his sexy blond in his arms, drink his strong liquor, and move his head to the rhythm of the music.

The sight of Hiroshi and Deidara made Sasuke feel even lonelier. Somehow they reminded him of his ex-boyfriend and him…

Some of them – Kimiko, Sarah and Deidara, actually – decided it was time to go to the dance floor. But before they left the room, Kimiko suggested that they took some ecstasy pills. Suigetsu, Kiba and Sarah were already fucked up enough, so they declined. Konan, Yahiko and Hidan weren't really into this kind of thing, so they also refused politely.

"Do you want to…?" Yoshikazu asked Ino, shrugging.

"No." She looked a little uncomfortable at first, then added, "Come on babe, we don't need that to have fun." She winked playfully.

"Damn straight." He smirked as they got up, and wrapped his arms around her.

"All right." Kimiko laughed.

Glancing at the door to make sure the waiter wasn't coming; Kimiko, Deidara and Hiroshi each swallowed a pill.

"Come on Sasuke!" Kimiko winked at him, "It's been a while since we partied together!"

"Yeah there's a reason for that." He replied coldly.

But she had never been intimidated by his attitude, so she just shrugged. "All right, whatever! Takumi?"

Her nervousness seemed gone. She was more confident now, all the strong alcohol she had drunk probably helped. There was a moment of silence as the raven-haired guy stared at the smiling girl with long pale hair and big black eyes full of promises.

"Sure." He finally said.

"Awesome!" Her smile widened as she gave him one pill, and put the tiny plastic bag back in her jeans pocket. Takumi swallowed it right away.

"Let's go dance now!" Sarah exclaimed, smiling and dragging Kiba towards the door.

The rest followed; Sasuke and Takumi a little farther behind.

"You sure that was a good idea?" He frowned slightly as he glanced at his friend.

"No..." Takumi whispered.

The music was much louder on the dance floor. It wasn't too crowded since it was still early in the night. It was a really fancy place; rich and beautiful people everywhere. The girls were all in sexy dresses and skirts, with tiny purses and stylish makeup and hair. The guys were pretty much all douche bags… much like the old Yoshikazu. But now Yoshi was all over his beautiful girlfriend Ino as they were dancing passionately. It was nothing compared to Hiroshi and Deidara, though… They were like, too intense…

Thankfully soon some famous dj arrived – it was midnight, probably – and the crowd cheered excitedly. The dance floor became crazier but at the same time Sasuke's drugged up friends were less noticeable.

Sasuke was still a pretty good dancer even if he hadn't gone out in a while and he was completely sober. He got his share of lustful looks, from strangers but also from some of his friends – Suigetsu and Kimiko.

Suigetsu had learned his lesson a few months ago. He knew Sasuke didn't want a fuck buddy, and he was leaving him alone. He was just glad their relationship as best friends had stayed intact. Besides, the silver-haired guy looked hot and a lot of girls around were checking him out, so surely he would find a dance partner soon enough and forget all about Sasuke.

As for Kimiko, she was probably starting to feel the effects of ecstasy because her big dark eyes were clouded and full of desire as she looked at Sasuke. It was clear she felt like dancing with him, but at the same time she was still logical enough to see that he clearly wasn't interested. Sasuke just hoped it would last…

The crowd thickened around him and Sasuke felt too hot and uncomfortable. Being on the dance floor of a club drunk was really fun, but sober, not so much… Hiroshi and Deidara went at the bar to order some shots, and Sasuke followed them just to escape from all the crazed dancers.

They ordered three shooters before Sasuke could tell them he didn't want any, so Deidara just shrugged and laughed.

"More for me!"

Hiroshi put his arm around Sasuke's shoulders. "You okay man?"

"Yeah I'm fine, don't touch me…" He pushed the other away.

Hiroshi just chuckled and returned to join their friends on the dance floor with his boyfriend.

Sasuke sat on a bar stool and sighed, resting his head in his hand. He ordered something just because it would be weird to be sitting at the bar without a drink, but he didn't touch it. Glancing back at his friends, he saw that Kimiko and Takumi were dancing passionately together… Well, not that he hadn't seen it coming… He just hoped Takumi wouldn't be too much of an emotional wreck when he woke up from all this…

Hidan was dancing by himself, and he was making weird movements with his arms actually, Sasuke could tell the dancers around him were a bit annoyed. The others all seemed to be enjoying themselves… except Suigetsu, actually. A few seconds later their eyes met and he saw that despite being really drunk, his best friend actually seemed sad.

He stopped dancing and made his way towards Sasuke, pushing some people to be able to go through. He finally came to sit beside him and rested both arms on the bar counter.

"What's wrong?" Sasuke asked, frowning.

"I need a drink." He slurred.

"Here, it's for you, happy birthday." Sasuke said half-teasing, pushing the drink he hadn't touched anyway in front of Suigetsu.

He chuckled. "Thanks…"

After he had emptied half of it at once, he glanced back to look at their friends who were still dancing. "Ino seems really happy…"

"I think she is." Sasuke shrugged slightly, following his stare.

"I'm happy for her." He said, looking back at Sasuke with drunken violet eyes. "I really am!"

"I believe you." He chuckled. "But you should tell her, not me."

"I'm gonna tell her." He tried to get up and almost fell, and Sasuke helped him back to his seat.

"I didn't mean now, idiot. Some other time, whatever…"

"Yeah…" He sighed and drank the rest of his drink.

There was a moment of silence, and Sasuke just waited for Suigetsu to continue talking.

"I miss Karin, you know." He said, his expression sad and pained, "I was kind of hoping that… that she'd show up, y'know, cause it's my birthday… I know it's stupid…"

"It's not stupid…" Sasuke leaned closer so that Suigetsu could hear him, "I'm just as pathetic as you man I'm always hoping to see Naruto again…"

He wiped his eyes in frustration. "I just miss her so much… I'm sorry I'm drunk and crying… did you say pathetic?" He chuckled. "That's an understatement..."

"You should be having fun, it's your birthday after all," Sasuke replied.

"I had fun all the other days of the year anyway…"

"Good point." Sasuke said half-teasing.

Suigetsu glanced sideways at him and half-laughed, half-cried.

"Just calm down." Sasuke sighed; he wasn't so good at the comforting friend thing.

Instead of calming down he fell into Sasuke's arms and cried on his shoulders. The raven held him a little awkwardly.

"I tried to move on!" He choked out. "I really tried! I mean…" his thin body was racked with sobs and Sasuke tried to comfort him by rubbing circles on his back.

"It's okay…" He said and they stayed like this for a moment – the barman looked at them funny but Sasuke glared so he walked away nervously.

"Ah… God I'm sorry…" Suigetsu finally pulled away, wiping his reddish eyes.

"Stop apologizing." Sasuke replied. "You can't be hyper all the time I mean it's normal to get depressed sometimes. Trust me I know what I'm talking about," he added to lighten the mood.

It worked at least, and Suigetsu smiled. "You fucking depressed emo," he teased him.

"Guilty as charged."

"You're a good friend Sasuke," Suigetsu sniffed, "and I'm sure Naruto's gonna come back to you. You know what? He just left you because he was scared, and hurt, and he didn't know what to do because you were taking drugs..."

"I didn't know that tell me more," Sasuke replied, a little annoyed by the turn of the conversation.

"No wait, wait, wait! You're not the only one to blame Sasuke! He should've talked to us, we were really stupid and we didn't know it was that bad, he should've talked to… I don't know someone! Doesn't he have a friend in med school, that Gaara dude? Anyway," Suigetsu sighed, "I'm sure he'll realize that you weren't yourself, and that now you've changed! I mean, you've come back to how you were before, only, even more mature, y'know what I mean?"

"I guess." He sighed, "Well, he'd have to actually see me again to realize that…"

"He will! I'm sure he'll come to the show in Kyoto! It's in the beginning of March; they've announced the dates already. We're leaving like, next week, or the other, I don't really remember…"

"I hope you're right…" he whispered more to himself.

"But Karin," Suigetsu continued, and Sasuke could see he was on the verge of crying again, "Karin's not gonna come. And she's never gonna want to see me again…"

"Don't say that! You don't know that." Sasuke protested, annoyed.

"It's true." He said sadly, sobbing again.

"Well, have you even tried to contact her?" He raised a fine black brow.

"I… I wrote her messages on facebook…" He muttered, wiping his eyes again.

The raven rolled his eyes. "That's fucking lame."

"Well it's better than nothing!" He protested, "Have _you_ tried to contact Naruto?"

Sasuke glanced away; he did have a point…

Kiba suddenly ran towards them and grabbed Suigetsu's arm. "Why are you sulking and… shit dude are you crying?"

"No!" Suigetsu lied.

"Whatever man come on!" the brunet dragged him back to the dance floor. "Sarah's friend is here I want to introduce you! It's your birthday man come have fun!"

Suigetsu glanced back at Sasuke, and the latter just smiled and nodded slightly, silently telling him to go enjoy himself as much as he could.

After a moment Suigetsu was dancing with a hot girl right beside Kiba and Sarah.

Sasuke sighed, hesitated only one second, and left outside in the cold.

Song:

Already over, by Red


	23. So close, so far

Chidori

Chapter 23 – So close, so far

Sai was in the shower, so Naruto was listening to Chidori again. As if losing himself in Sasuke's voice would give him answers. They had just come back from a karate practice. That was all Naruto was doing these days; karate practice with Sai, other than the interviews to promote the movie with Ariane of course, but even that wasn't enough to cheer him up. At least karate was taking his mind off things. He was getting really good, and sometimes he even beat Sai. The latter had followed Naruto's advice and called Jamie. They were hanging out sometimes, taking things slow. Naruto was happy for them, and he was sure it would work out; they had just needed a little help.

"I told you to stop listening to that crap," Sai got out of the bathroom with a towel around his waist and turned off the music. "Besides, aren't you going to see their show tomorrow?"

Naruto's eyes widened as he looked up at Sai, as if he had forgotten about the show. But of course he hadn't; hearing these words pronounced out loud by his roommate just made it all the more real.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Sai asked on an even tone as he went in his room, but he left the door opened.

Naruto glanced away, "I don't know…"

"You're scared?"

"…Yeah"

Sai finished getting dressed and came to sit with him.

"Well, have you called him?"

"…No."

Sai chuckled lightly, "You don't even follow your own advice."

"I want to see him in person," Naruto said defensively, still avoiding Sai's gaze.

"Are you gonna go back stage at least?"

"Just after the show…"

"Do they even know you're coming?"

"What is with you being so talkative all of a sudden?" Naruto glanced at him, and then sighed, "Yeah they know. Karin talked with Suigetsu on the phone."

"So _she_ had the guts to call him?" Sai asked with a hint of mockery.

"Shut up," Naruto said but it was without conviction, "I'm gonna take a shower."

That ended the conversation, and Sai pretty much went back to his silent self for the rest of the day.

- Chidori -

Naruto sighed as he looked at himself in the mirror of the bathroom for the hundredth time, as if trying to see what Sasuke would see when he would look at him. His bleached blond hair was perfect of course, thanks to the skilled hairdresser working for the cast of the movie. His hair grew really fast though, and since the shooting had ended almost a month ago his bangs were now falling into his eyes and his hair at the back were a little longer than the nape of his neck. He had straightened it himself as best as he could, and the gold and pale blond streaks looked nice. He felt foolish though, he was just doing that because he knew Sasuke preferred it that way.

His muscles had developed recently thanks to karate training with Sai, and the blue sleeveless top was definitely not hiding them. It was a slightly dark blue, just like his eyes – again, he felt foolish for dressing according to Sasuke's tastes. The rest of his outfit consisted of his black hoodie and dark grey skinny jeans.

He sighed again; why was he trying to impress Sasuke so much? He had been the one to break up with him. It didn't even make sense… Then again, love hardly ever made sense, he supposed.

Knocks on the door brought him out of his thoughts. He hurried to go open, but Sai beat him to it.

"Hey Sai!" Ariane exclaimed. She was going to the show as well and they were meeting up before, "Oh my God Naruto you look so…" she hesitated, and then opted for, "gay."

He laughed as he checked out her outfit as well. She was wearing skin tight blue jeans, black high heel boots and a black Chidori t-shirt – she was a fan after all. She had put a ridiculous amount of black makeup around her green eyes, and it looked surprisingly beautiful. She had also straightened her long, thick pitch black hair.

"Who knew emo style would look good on ya?" Naruto said half-teasing.

"Indeed," she mused, "And you know by gay I meant hot, right?"

"Oh I know," he smiled, "Come in! Jamie and Karin should be here soon."

They closed the door and went to sit in the living room – Naruto had made an effort to turn the bed into a sofa for once. Sai was being surprisingly social and stayed with them – but he was probably just looking forward to see Jamie.

"But seriously, that's a really cute look for you," Ariane insisted, checking him out teasingly.

"I know you fantasise about fucking gay guys you pervert," he mocked her.

She laughed and face palmed, "Oh no, my secret's been revealed! But seriously," she looked up, "the guys I have a big crush on often end up being gay. For example, the singer of Chidori!" she closed her eyes, so she didn't see the funny awkward face Naruto made at that moment. "Now that guy is hot!" she opened her eyes again, "but I'm sure he's gay… What's the matter Naruto?"

"What, you didn't tell her?" Sai chuckled, and then glanced at Ariane, "You do know Naruto was their guitarist right?"

"Yeah but he never talks about it," she shrugged.

Naruto blushed and glanced away, letting Sai explain.

"Why do you think he quit? I bet he just told you vaguely that there were problems… Yeah right, problems with Sasuke," he said on an even tone. "And he most certainly is gay…"

Green eyes widened in understanding, "Oh my God, your ex, it's him! It all makes sense now. I should've known…"

Naruto shrugged helplessly, but more knocks on the door saved him from explaining.

He went to open, Sai following right behind. Karin and Jamie were standing in the entrance.

"Hey," the red-head girl said nervously.

"Hi!" Jamie said at the same time, except much more enthusiastically.

He hugged Naruto briefly, then hugged Sai a little bit longer, and also kissed him softly. Naruto smiled; these two were really cute. Just like Ariane, Jamie was wearing a Chidori t-shirt under his coat. But Karin's look was different. Her shoulder-length deep red hair was sleek, she was wearing her contacts with makeup around her dark eyes, she was clad in black pants, high heel shoes and a sexy strapless white top with a light black vest over it.

"I kinda dressed for the show and the after party, just in case," she said as their eyes met.

Naruto chuckled nervously, "Yeah me too…"

"Am I invited to the after party as well?" Ariane asked excitedly.

Karin laughed lightly, "Don't worry sweety, Kiba will invite you."

Naruto smiled, "True!"

She smiled back, "Oh, the drummer? He's cute! You think he'll like me?"

"He most definitely will," Karin replied.

They were ready to go, but they all looked at Sai and Jamie, who were talking quietly, a little apart from the others.

"You still don't want to come?" the blond guy asked as he held Sai's hand.

"No, besides I don't have a ticket anyway," the raven shrugged.

"Right," Jamie said sadly, "but maybe I could come here after the show?"

"Sure," Sai answered, "Naruto'll come back late anyway," he added, giving his roommate a knowing glance.

"Let's go guys I don't want to be late!" Ariane broke the sudden silence.

"You heard her!" Naruto chuckled.

Jamie kissed Sai a last time before following them outside. Karin and Naruto were nervous – actually that was an understatement. Naruto's heart was beating so fast and loud that he thought for sure everyone else could hear it. And the tensed expression on Karin's pale face made it clear she felt pretty much the same.

- Chidori -

They were in the first week of March and the weather wasn't so bad. Naruto was hardly ever cold anyway, so he didn't mind waiting in line outside. Still, he put his hood on his head, scared that some of the fans would recognize him. Since they weren't meeting with the band before the show, they had to wait with everyone else.

On the billboard announcing the show, it indicated that Akatsuki was doing their first part. This made Naruto happy because he would get to see Deidara and the others again.

When they opened the doors, Naruto's heart squeezed in his chest. He was so damn stressed out about this! Jamie and Ariane, along with the other excited fans, made a run for it, wanting to be standing right in front of the stage. So Naruto and Karin lost them in the crowd. They had talked about this before, and they would rather take place discreetly at the back anyway. So they let the crazy people pass them, and then they calmly went to stand further behind in the theatre. The floor was higher there anyway, so they had a good view of the stage without having to die crushed by crazy fan boys and fan girls.

They waited nervously side by side, and at some point Naruto took off his hoodie; it was getting hot in the crowded theatre and besides, people were too busy staring at the stage excitedly and screaming hopefully every time a mere technician walked on it to notice him.

"Do you think Akatsuki will perform your song?" Karin asked him, breaking the long moment of silence.

"Well yeah I mean it's probably their only hit," Naruto shrugged.

"Aren't you modest?" She teased him.

Naruto made a little smile but went quiet as screams erupted in the crowd. It was time for the first part of the show. As the blond had expected, they performed The last fight as an opening.

The song really kicked ass, as well as the band; Deidara rocked the guitar solos, and Hiroshi and Hidan respectively the drums and bass guitar. Yahiko's voice and style were pure punk metal, and the crowd cheered even though it wasn't their favourite band. Naruto felt proud even if it sucked not to be there on stage with them. He felt like he would always be a part of that song, and he mouthed the lyrics all along. The members of Akatsuki didn't notice him; with Karin they were standing too far in the back of the room. But it was better that way. Naruto didn't want to be noticed, especially not by Sasuke – it could make him lose his focus and Naruto didn't want that.

The other songs were good, but nothing more. Akatsuki still had a long way to go to obtain the same level of fame as Chidori. But they were improving, and the fans encouraged them by cheering and applauding at the end of the first part.

The thirty minutes pause felt excruciatingly long to Naruto. The scene of the last time he'd seen Sasuke kept playing over and over in his mind. The raven had been so broken back then, both of them were. But now they had grown and changed – except they'd been so far away…

"What did Suigetsu tell you on the phone?" Naruto asked at some point.

Karin smiled, "That I was a bitch for not going to his birthday."

"…Wow," was all Naruto could say.

"No it's fine; banter is what I'm used to with him. It's almost reassuring," she shrugged. "I told him that he was an idiot for inviting me on facebook. And then he said, fair enough, but I really miss you, I think about you all the time and I can't wait to see you."

"Aww," Naruto chuckled. "Who knew Suigetsu could be romantic?"

"Yeah," she said thoughtfully.

They both went quiet and tensed slightly in anticipation as the fans exploded in excited screams. Naruto smiled when he could discern his four friends on stage. Only then did he realize just how much he missed them. And God he missed being on stage! For a moment as Takumi and Suigetsu started playing guitar, he closed his eyes and pictured himself up there with them. He knew that melody, it was from the first album. His blue eyes were a little watery as he opened them.

And Sasuke! Sasuke was perfect. His voice was so beautiful; that voice Naruto had missed so much. Listening to the record was one thing. Hearing it live was another. He barely noticed the three others – their outfits were dark, emo, even Kiba with his black and red hair and black t-shirt. But Naruto couldn't keep his eyes off Sasuke for much longer. He was too far to see him in details, of course, but he was still amazed by how handsome and dreamy he was. Mid-length sleek raven hair with bluish streaks, big dark eyes, pale flawless skin, perfect lips… And as usual his skinny jeans and tank top were all black, for the exception of a blue belt around his thin hips. Sure he was very thin, but that was okay – he looked healthy at least, well-rested, confident, and he had all the reasons in the world to be. He was singing with so much passion, so much emotion, it was almost entrancing for Naruto. He had no idea if Sasuke had been that intense all those times Naruto had been up there, playing guitar right next to him, but it was something else entirely to see him as part of the crowd.

Even if he wasn't focused on the others, he could hear that they had improved. The instruments flooded so well together. And Takumi didn't have the energy on stage that Naruto had, but he was a great guitarist, and it didn't matter because Sasuke was intense enough for the whole band.

"Thank you Kyoto!" Sasuke shouted and the fans cheered for him; Naruto could've sworn he heard some things like, Marry me Sasuke! "I also want you to give it up for the band touring with us, Akatsuki!"

Again the crowd cheered and applauded, but Karin made a little comment voicing Naruto's thoughts perfectly, "I think they'd applaud even if he said to cheer for the Easter bunny or something."

Naruto laughed, but his eyes never left the stage, most particularly the sexy singer.

The next song was slower, sadder, and Naruto immediately recognized it as one of the songs written by Takumi. It was very beautiful but extremely heartbreaking. He couldn't help but wonder what had happened with Kimiko, and how was Takumi doing now…

Bury all your secrets in my skin  
>Come away with innocence and leave me with my sins<br>The air around me still feels like a cage  
>And love is just a camouflage for what resembles rage again<p>

So if you love me let me go  
>And run away before I know<br>My heart is just too dark to care  
>I can't destroy what isn't there<p>

Deliver me into my fate  
>If I'm alone I cannot hate<br>I don't deserve to have you  
>Ooh, my smile was taken long ago<br>If I can change I hope I never know

I still press your letters to my lips  
>And cherish them in parts of me that savour every kiss<br>I couldn't face a life without your lights

But all of that was ripped apart when you refused to fight

So save your breath, I will not care  
>I think I made it very clear<br>You couldn't hate enough to love  
>Is that supposed to be enough?<p>

I only wish you weren't my friend  
>Then I could hurt you in the end<br>I never claimed to be a saint  
>Ooh, my own was banished long ago<br>It took the death of hope to let you go

So break yourself against my stones  
>And spit your pity in my soul<br>You never needed any help  
>You sold me out to save yourself<p>

And I won't listen to your shame  
>You ran away, you're all the same<br>Angels lie to keep control  
>Ooh, my love was punished long ago<br>If you still care don't ever let me know  
>If you still care don't ever let me know<p>

Even if the lyrics were Takumi's, Sasuke's voice was pained and passionate, and it was as if Naruto could feel the sadness in every word. It was nothing compared to when they did the song Already Over, though. That one, written by Sasuke, broke Naruto's heart and made him cry every time. And tonight was no exception. Seeing the raven's beautiful face so sad as he sang certainly didn't help. And even though Sasuke couldn't possibly see him in the room, somehow he was certain that Sasuke knew he was there listening to every word…

After that they continued with another song from the second album; this one written in collaboration by Sasuke and Takumi…

In the brightest hour of my darkest day  
>I realized what is wrong with me<br>Can't get over you, can't get through to you  
>It's been a helter-skelter romance from the start<br>Take these memories that are haunting me  
>Of a paper man cut into shreds by his own pair of scissors<br>He'll never forgive her...he'll never forgive her...

Because days come and go but my feelings for you are forever  
>Because days come and go but my feelings for you are forever<p>

Sitting by a fire on a lonely night  
>Hanging over from another good time<br>With another girl... little dirty girl  
>You should listen to this story of a life<br>You're my heroine, in this moment I'm lonely fulfilling my darkest dreams  
>All these drugs all these women<br>I'm never forgiven... this broken heart of mine

Because days come and go, but my feelings for you are forever,  
>Because days come and go, but my feelings for you are forever<p>

One last kiss,  
>Before I go<br>Dry your tears,  
>It is time to let you go<p>

One last kiss (one last kiss)  
>Before I go (before I go)<br>Dry your tears (dry your tears)  
>It is Time to let you go<p>

Because days come and go, but my feelings for you are forever  
>Because days come and go, but my feelings for you are forever<p>

One last kiss (one last kiss)  
>Before I go (before I go)<br>Dry your tears (dry your tears)  
>It is time to let you go<p>

One last kiss,  
>Before I go,<br>Dry your tears,  
>It is time to let you go,<br>One last kiss

Karin took his hand comfortingly at the end of the song. He probably looked retarded – tears falling down his cheeks while enjoying such an awesome show. The band followed with some songs from the first record, and Naruto's sadness disappeared, only to be replaced by nostalgia. It brought back memories, and again he wished he could be on stage, electric guitar in hands, performing with them.

The very last song was also heart wrenching for Naruto; it was written by Sasuke of course, and in his voice he could discern a certain despair, a deep longing, and it was all the more intense because Naruto felt exactly the same…

You only saw the dark side of me  
>Bring me back to my reality<br>I have lost my belief

Without you I fail in every way  
>Picture a world for me where I can stay<br>Without you I break in every way  
>Imagine a place for us where you and I stay<p>

I have lost the will to fly  
>With broken wings I can't even try<br>I have lost my belief

Without you I fail in every way  
>Picture a world for me where I can stay<br>Without you I break in every way  
>Imagine a place for us where you and I stay<p>

Picture a world for us  
>A promise to set me free<br>Imagine a place for us  
>A promise will set me free<p>

Without you I fail in every way  
>Picture a world for me where I can stay<br>Without you I break in every way  
>Imagine a place for us where you and I stay<p>

After that Sasuke thanked the fans again, and he went back stage with the band. Not for long of course – they were called back by the excited crowd who wanted to hear more. Chidori did as the fans wanted and performed two more songs, before disappearing back stage again.

This time the show really was over, and the crowd dispersed. When the place had cleared up enough they met up with Ariane and Jamie. Both had messy hair and looked a little worn out – Chidori fans were intense.

"This show was the awesomest I've seen in my whole life! Oh my God, Sasuke was so good!" Ariane exclaimed, smiling widely. "I would be your best friend forever if you introduced me to the band, honestly," she told them, looking from Naruto to Karin.

"Sure," the red-head laughed.

"It was great," Jamie smiled, "I hope you guys have fun tonight. But I think I'm gonna go see Sai now!"

"Have fun with that," Naruto winked at him, "You both deserve it," he added more seriously.

"Thanks Naruto! Bye Ariane, it was fun trashing with you!" he laughed.

"Yeah!" she exclaimed as he walked away.

Karin sighed nervously as she took out her VIP pass, "Well, here goes nothing…"

Naruto held his breath as he followed Karin and Ariane toward the 'staff only' backstage door. He had never entered by that door before, and it felt weird – he felt out of place.

There were already some fan girls trying to flirt with security so that they let them in, but they didn't seem to be having much luck. With her usual confidence Karin walked passed them and showed her VIP ticket to the doorman. But he still looked suspicious.

"It's okay we're friends of the band," Karin said impatiently, "I spoke to Shizune-san on the phone; they're expecting us."

"I also know Shizune!" one of the fan girls exclaimed in despair, but she was ignored.

"Names?" he asked.

"I'm Karin, this is Naruto, and this is our friend Ariane."

Naruto was immediately harassed by the fan girls, who realized he was the former guitarist. But the doorman nodded and let them in, pushing the crazy girls away before the situation could become too chaotic.

A short and pretty black-haired woman greeted them, and walked alongside Karin. Naruto, following behind with Ariane, supposed this was Shizune. She led them to the back stage room for the bands, and the door was already opened…

Everyone stopped their movements and went quiet. Naruto looked past the three girls accompanying him, looked past the members of Akatsuki, who had all turned to smile at him, beers in their hands, looked past Suigetsu and Kiba, who were also drinking, and looked past Takumi, who was the only one not staring at the new arrivals but instead worriedly at Sasuke.

Deep blue eyes met onyx; those beautiful big dark eyes encircled by black eyeliner, partly hidden by raven bangs, that Naruto loved so much. But it lasted only one second; and then Naruto was crushed with friendly hugs.

"I missed you man!" Kiba exclaimed, slapping his back.

"Naruto my man!" Deidara also hugged him happily.

Suigetsu snapped out of his daze – probably caused by seeing Karin – and hugged him too. Naruto returned the hugs and the smiles, and then he introduced Ariane because Karin seemed speechless, now face to face with Suigetsu.

"So nice to meet you," Kiba smiled, took Ariane's hand, and kissed her cheeks.

She blushed slightly, and smiled back, "Nice to meet you too!"

"So how've you been doin'?" Deidara asked him.

"How is it being an actor?" Hiroshi asked almost at the same time.

"Do you want a beer?" Kiba suggested.

He continued to be harassed by questions, and he laughed nervously, trying to answer as best as he could. He did accept the offer for a beer; he really needed a drink. Glancing at Sasuke he saw that he seemed to be drinking a simple glass of water. He was still sitting in the back with Takumi, avoiding Naruto's gaze and ignoring him completely. For a moment Naruto's heart sank; what if Sasuke and Takumi…? But no, Takumi was straight, he tried to reason himself. Still, the uneasiness remained.

As for Suigetsu and Karin they were still staring at each other, making little talk nervously. And Kiba was talking with Ariane.

"All right guys, time to go!" Shizune suddenly shouted – despite her looks she could have authority when needed apparently. "Party all you want, but keep in mind that we have a flight tomorrow morning!"

Again, everyone talked at the same time.

"Let's go people!" Deidara exclaimed.

"Thanks Shizune-san, have a good night!" Kiba said politely.

"You're gonna come clubbing with us right?" Suigetsu asked Karin.

"There's no place in the limo!" Hiroshi exclaimed. "You guys can join us there though right?"

Naruto was desperately trying to talk to Sasuke, but everything happened too fast; Shizune left, the two bands also left, but to go to their limo, which would bring them to the club for the after party. Karin had somehow gathered the address where to join them, and she led Ariane and Naruto outside while calling a cab.

Fifteen minutes later they were standing in a long line of people at the entrance of a fancy night club, and they could hear the loud dance music clearly even outside.

"Good thing they waited for us to let us in," Karin muttered sarcastically.

But right after she had said this, Suigetsu and Kiba walked out the door, shivering slightly in their light t-shirts, and they talked to the doormen. They looked in their direction, and motioned for them to come closer. They passed in front of everyone and followed Suigetsu and Kiba inside.

"How about some drinks?" Kiba exclaimed, throwing his arm around Ariane's shoulders.

"Yeah," Karin and Suigetsu agreed at the same time.

They walked towards the long bar counter, and the barmaid ignored some other customers to serve them instead with a sweet smile. Naruto let the others order first, and then he personally decided to keep it simple and stick with beer. Ariane pushed Kiba away, but only so that she could remove her Chidori t-shirt, revealing a tiny flattering black top underneath.

"Wow," Kiba smiled. His flirting was nowhere near subtle.

"Where are the others?" Naruto asked.

"In the back," Suigetsu answered, motioning towards a round table all the way to the end of the long bar counter.

Sure enough, Sasuke was sitting there, with no drink in hands as opposed to the others – Takumi and the four Akatsuki band mates.

Karin and Suigetsu stayed behind at the bar, while Naruto, Ariane and Kiba went to join the others. Both seats were taken beside Sasuke, and Naruto had to sit in between Hidan and Ariane, on the other side of the table. He was a little bit frustrated as he just sat there drinking his beer quietly. And he was starting to think that Sasuke was just trying to avoid him.

But when Sasuke finally looked up, meeting his eyes, Naruto saw that he was scared. He seemed so nervous; hell, his pale hands were shaking as they rested on his knees. They couldn't talk in there, Naruto decided.

Ignoring the others, he got up, emptied his beer completely, put it down on the table loudly, stared at Sasuke intensely for a few seconds, and then walked away quickly towards the exit.

He walked a little further from the entrance and leaned on the wall. He glanced back at the front doors of the club, and he saw Sasuke come out. The raven glanced around almost frantically, and when he spotted Naruto he seemed relieved and tensed at the same time. Shivering in his tank top, he shoved his hands in his pockets and walked up to him. His confidence was gone, and he just looked vulnerable at this point.

But Naruto was also really nervous, and for a moment they just stood there awkwardly.

"You… You look great," Sasuke finally broke the silence, clearing his throat slightly.

"Thanks," the blond replied, "You too."

In a silent agreement they started walking. They weren't going anywhere in particular, but at least walking made the situation less awkward than just standing there on the sidewalk.

Sasuke seemed really cold though. It was a rather warm night for March, but still…

"Here," he took off his black hoodie and handed it to Sasuke.

The raven just glanced at it then at Naruto, but didn't remove his hands from his pockets.

"I'm okay," he said.

"No you're not, you're freezing, take it," he insisted.

"Fine," Sasuke rolled his eyes, took it and put it on.

It was slightly too big for him, but it didn't seem to bother him. When he glanced sideways at Naruto, he was smiling. Naruto couldn't help but smile back; this was familiar, the whole Sasuke being cold and Naruto giving him his sweater thing.

"So how are you?" he asked, not knowing what else to say.

"Okay I guess, you?" he answered while looking down, his raven bangs falling in his face.

"You can elaborate…" Naruto said half-teasing.

Sasuke glanced at him with a little sad smile, and Naruto couldn't help but think about how beautiful he was.

"Elaborate… Well, in the past few months I've been… doing better, you could say. Producing a record, maybe you've heard of it…"

"I listen to it everyday," he whispered, then glanced away, blushing and cursing himself for sounding like a fan girl.

But when he looked back at Sasuke he couldn't bring himself to regret these spontaneous words. They stopped walking without really noticing and stood really close, their warm breaths making little clouds of vapour in the cold air between them. They were alone; the silence was only broken by passing cars or some rare other people walking down the street. The city lights were making Sasuke's skin appear an ethereal white in the darkness.

But suddenly Sasuke shivered and stepped back, and the moment was gone.

"What's your favourite song on the record?" he asked as they started walking again, further from the downtown area.

"Already over," he answered without hesitating.

"Why?" the raven asked softly.

Because of the lyrics, Naruto thought. Because he didn't want it to be over...

But instead he just answered, "It's a beautiful song…"

Such a lame answer. But somehow he knew Sasuke understood. He had to. It was so hard to talk about these things, their relationship… The silence was getting so heavy between them at this point. So instead Naruto decided to ask him about the others; how they were all doing.

"Suigetsu's still a party animal, just like Kiba and his girlfriend, but he misses Karin so much that I think he'd be ready to settle down with her," Sasuke answered.

"That'd be great, they really deserve to be happy together," Naruto said sincerely, "but you said Kiba still has a girlfriend?"

"Yeah."

"But he was openly flirting with my friend…"

Sasuke chuckled and looked at him, "Are you really surprised?"

"…No," he admitted, sighing, "Damn Kiba…"

"Yeah… Yahiko's really faithful to Konan though. Hidan's only love is that God of his – his rituals are really annoying and creepy, to tell you the truth," Sasuke shivered slightly.

"I believe you," Naruto chuckled, "What about Deidara and Hiroshi?"

"They're really in love," Sasuke shrugged, "I think it's the real thing."

"That's awesome," Naruto smiled, "and… Takumi?"

Sasuke sighed, tilting his head back as he walked, glancing at the moonless sky for a moment, "He's still depressed sometimes, but he's slowly getting better. He rejected Kimi like, a few weeks ago, right before the tour started."

"She wanted to get back with him?" Naruto asked, a little shocked.

"Yeah," Sasuke smiled sadly, "but you know how she is… I think she misses the attention. They all took ecstasy at Suigetsu's birthday party, and…"

"Not you?" Naruto couldn't help but ask.

"No," Sasuke locked eyes with him, his expression unreadable, then glanced away and continued, "they danced, kissed, you can imagine the rest… But after that he rejected her. Of course he was a mess… he came crying on my shoulder."

"That sucks," Naruto whispered; again he was scared that Sasuke and Takumi were more than just friends somehow.

"He's gonna be okay," Sasuke shrugged slightly, "he just needs to trust himself more. We're helping each other a lot so…"

"Are you… with him?" Naruto asked, holding his breath.

Sasuke glanced at him, amused, "Naruto, he's straight."

He liked hearing his name in Sasuke's voice. He didn't like the mockery though.

"I was just asking," he muttered.

"It's okay," he said more softly. "I consider Takumi… kind of like a little brother, even though we're the same age. He's had it pretty rough, so I try to help… What about you?"

"What?" Naruto frowned, taken aback by the sudden question.

"Do you have someone?" Sasuke was the one who seemed nervous now, even if he was trying to hide it.

"No," Naruto answered simply, "Sai was interested for a time, and he kissed me once, but I... rejected him. But now he's trying to be with Jamie again, so I hope it works out."

It didn't go unnoticed by Naruto that Sasuke had tensed at the mention of Sai kissing him. But after that he relaxed again. They had reached a park by the river, so they stopped walking to sit on a bench, watching the water quietly, listening to the wind in the trees, and just enjoying the peace and quiet. They were both getting a little cold though, and Naruto wanted nothing more than take him in his arms. But he felt like the few feet separating them were like so many miles…

"Were there others?" Sasuke asked after a moment, "Except the kiss with Sai?"

"Oh I kissed Ariane many times," he teased. They both knew perfectly well it was just for the movie.

"Idiot," Sasuke said almost fondly.

"If that's what you want to know, I didn't…" he interrupted himself; he'd been about to say cheat. But they weren't together anymore, so it wouldn't be cheating anyway. "I didn't hook up with anyone," he glanced at Sasuke and asked, "You?"

He glanced away. Naruto's heart sank; he knew Sasuke well enough, and that was a yes. He felt bad for asking, but at the same time, Sasuke had asked first. Maybe he had unconsciously wanted Naruto to ask, so that they wouldn't have any secrets for each other afterwards. Well if that was the case, Naruto just waited patiently for his answer.

"It was a few weeks after you left… We went out and…" he sighed and ran shaky fingers through raven locks.

"So… who was it?" Naruto asked.

"…Suigetsu"

His blue eyes widened in shock, "oh, hum, honestly I don't know if I should be mad or just laugh…"

"I was drunk," he said. "Out of my mind…"

"Oh," Naruto said in understanding, and then he couldn't help but laugh. "Must have been so awkward after…"

"You have no idea," Sasuke chuckled, obviously a little reassured by Naruto's reaction.

"It's kind of traumatizing actually," Naruto frowned, horrified, "It's like if I'd done it with Kiba, ugh…"

"I stopped drinking after that," Sasuke said as if to explain how traumatized he had been indeed.

Naruto was a little bit angry, but not that much really. And Sasuke seemed to feel so guilty about it that Naruto couldn't help but think that he'd been through enough already. Sasuke didn't need another crazy and overly possessive ex like Haku… which reminded him of another question he had wanted to ask…

"What about Haku? Does he still write to you?"

"I delete his emails without reading them now," he shrugged, "I keep thinking that he'll get tired of it eventually."

"I hope so," Naruto said thoughtfully, "And how's your brother?"

Sasuke smiled, "He's doing much better. I think living in the city and far from my parents and Sakura helps. How is she, by the way?"

"I kind of lost contact," Naruto shrugged, "but I think she's doing better as well. She still works for the Uchiha company, no?"

"Yeah, Itachi didn't have the heart to fire her. Besides, she works well, so…"

There was a moment of silence. Naruto was a little annoyed by all this talking about other people. He wanted to talk about them. He wanted to ask him if he'd been thinking about him, if the songs were really addressed to him; he just wanted to hear Sasuke actually say it…

"So, how is it being the lead actor of a movie?" Sasuke broke the silence.

"It was though, I have to admit, but also really great," he smiled, "it was an amazing experience. I can't wait to see the final version of the movie. Although I guess it'll be weird seeing myself…"

"When does it come out?" Sasuke inquired.

"I don't know," the blond admitted, "I'd have to ask Karin…"

Sasuke nodded slowly. There was another silence after this. They both knew it was getting really late, really cold, and that Sasuke had a flight the next morning. But at the same time Naruto didn't want to move, he didn't want this precious moment together to slip away…

Shivering, Sasuke got up and walked toward the river. He pulled the hoodie tighter around his thin body and shoved his hands in his pockets again. Naruto heard him sigh shakily, and he knew he was sad even though he couldn't see his face. Naruto immediately felt sad too, as if their minds were connected. He slowly got up and walked towards him, and, holding his breath, slid his arm around his waist in a gesture so familiar. Sasuke turned to look at him with dark eyes so sad, so beautiful, and they were so close that the wind made blond and raven hair entangle together. Sasuke removed his hands from his pockets and wrapped his arms around Naruto. The blong hugged back fiercely, shaking with emotion. Sasuke smelled so good, God he had missed that smell. Naruto kissed his hair, his neck tenderly, and Sasuke shivered and trembled against him; not from the cold this time.

"I missed you Sasuke," he whispered against soft raven locks.

"I missed you too, so much," Sasuke replied, pressing their bodies closer.

Eventually though they pulled away slightly, but they were still really close and Naruto kept his arms firmly around Sasuke. They were at the exact same height, and blue eyes were staring into onyx intensely, then down at his lips. But none of them moved; there were too many unspoken words, unanswered questions, too many doubts lingering, the moment seemed too unreal… They needed more time, Naruto thought sadly, but they didn't have any.

"Come with me," Sasuke whispered, "come with us on tour. You can even be in the band again. We can have two guitarists. We'll sound even better. It'd be great, the fans love you, they miss you… I sure do," he finished breathlessly, and Naruto sighed.

"I know, but… I'm sorry…" he shook his head sadly.

Sasuke nodded; and Naruto knew that he understood. Naruto wasn't ready to go back to that life. Partying and shows, partying and shows…the endless cycle…

And Sasuke was sober now, but what if the others invited him to go out some other evening, and he felt like partying, and it started all over again? The drugs, the alcohol, the addictions, and the sleepless nights worrying…

Naruto couldn't risk going back to that. He just couldn't. Sasuke didn't insist; it wasn't like him to insist anyway. So instead he pulled away, took the sweater off and gave it back to Naruto.

"Goodbye then," he whispered.

"See you, Sasuke," Naruto replied, refusing to say goodbye.

The raven didn't glance back as he walked away, and he pressed his phone to his ear, probably calling a cab or something.

Naruto put his hoodie back on, and closed his eyes, letting warm tears roll down his cheeks. It had a little bit of Sasuke's perfume on it now… He clutched it tightly, waited a few more minutes by the river, and then started walking back to his apartment, alone again.

TBC

Songs:

Snuff, by Slipknot

Already over, by Red

Forever, by Papa Roach

A promise, by Dead by April


	24. Despair

Chidori

Chapter 24 – Despair

Naruto was clutching his cell phone nervously, hesitating. But then the suspicious noises he heard from Sai's bedroom – Jamie was sleeping over – reinforced his decision to call Sasuke. He wanted to move back to Tokyo in their apartment, but he wanted to ask first to make sure it was okay.

"Hello?"

His stupid heart started beating faster just at hearing the sound of Sasuke's voice.

"Hey what's up?"

Thankfully, Naruto thought, sounding casual on the phone was so much easier than in person.

"We're in the middle of sound check." Sasuke answered.

"Cool! Where?"

"Paris."

"Oh my God! Touring Europe, aren't you? That's great! Don't worry I won't bother you very long." He said.

"You're not bothering me." Sasuke replied in a soft voice.

"I kinda… wanted to move back to Tokyo." He said hesitantly.

There was a moment of silence, and Naruto wondered if he was still there.

Then Sasuke asked, "In our apartment?"

"Yeah."

"You know you don't need my permission."

"I know, but I just wanted to make sure it was okay."

"Well as long as you're okay with it, I am." He said simply. "What's going on? Just curious. Sai's no longer being a dreamy roommate?"

"Oh well Jamie and Sai are officially together again, so yeah they kinda need their privacy… And I can promote the movie in Tokyo anyway. And… I think it will be good to be back home."

"I'm glad." Sasuke said, and then Naruto heard other voices, namely Suigetsu's. _"Sasuke you bastard you didn't even let me talk to Karin earlier!"_ And then Kiba's. _"Is it Naruto? Can he give me Ariane's number?"_ And then Sasuke again. "Shut up you idiots."

"I think you'd better go." Naruto chuckled.

"We miss you, you know." Sasuke said with some nostalgia in his voice. "We're not very productive without you. We're always fighting. Shizune wants to kill us."

"That's true!" Kiba spoke in the phone. "We need you back man. Takumi doesn't even do anything when we fight; he just watches and laughs."

Naruto laughed. "I miss you guys."

"Then stop being a wannabe actor douche and get back with the band!" Kiba insisted.

Sasuke took his phone back. "Just say you'll think about it."

"I already think about it everyday." Naruto said. "You guys work hard okay? And don't fight!"

God, now he sounded like their parent or something.

"Bye Naruto, I'm glad you called." Sasuke said.

"Bye Sasuke." He said back, and then hung up.

- Chidori -

He didn't lose any time, he moved the very next day. Well he didn't have that much luggage anyway, he had never bothered to move all his things to Kyoto in the first place. So he had just bought a regular plane ticket to Tokyo and left with his backpack and suitcase.

It felt so good to be back home. Even though they hadn't lived there for very long, this apartment was still home for Sasuke and him. He no longer had the key, but luckily with a simple phone call to the janitor of the place they gave him a spare.

Ino and Yoshikazu came to spend the evening with him, they helped him unpack and then they just hung out and talked. They discussed Ino's fashion school and various projects, Yoshi's guitar lessons and his band mates at the bar he was playing, and also Naruto's movie – Ino was a little bit too excited about it. It was really good to see them again, and at least Naruto didn't feel too lonely in the empty apartment.

But of course it got late and they had to leave. Naruto went to the bedroom, but he didn't feel sleepy. His bedroom hadn't changed at all. Everything was so clean and neat – well except for the things he had just unpacked, of course. Naruto smiled to himself; some things never changed.

There was a certain uneasiness lingering in his heart concerning Sasuke. He wasn't so scared that Takumi would take his place in the raven's heart anymore, but what if someone else did? What if Sasuke moved on because Naruto had refused to go back with the band? After seeing him again, he was sure of it, he still loved Sasuke and wanted to be with him. It would just take a little bit more time for Naruto to forget all those horrible times… He needed to learn to trust Sasuke again. But it didn't matter even if Sasuke promised never to take drugs again, never to cheat on him, never to leave him… Promises could always be broken, Naruto knew that now. That's why everything came with a risk. The risk of getting hurt again, to feel betrayed again, to have to leave the one he loved again…

Sighing, he opened the drawers to place some more of his things. He stopped his movements when his eyes lay on the notebook – he almost didn't recognize it – he'd given Sasuke. It was all worn out now. Holding his breath, he sat comfortably on the bed and opened it in front of him.

Turning the pages, he saw so many songs and poems written in there. All in Sasuke's handwriting; sometimes a little shaky though, and with tears marks…

He smiled sadly as he looked at the pictures and the writings. He recognized some songs here and there, and most of the rest he read it, time passing by without his realizing it. He felt closer to Sasuke; it was almost as if he could feel what Sasuke had been through. He had poured his heart out on the paper, and now Naruto was seeing it all. He had his answer; Sasuke had been thinking about him all this time, missing him, longing for him. He spent two hours reading every single word, and he fell asleep with his clothes on and clutching a pillow in his hands, the notebook still open on the bed right beside him.

- Chidori -

_Metropolis_

_Tuesday March 27_

_Chidori_

_First part Akatsuki_

The billboard announcing the show was illuminated. There were a few other announcements written in French underneath, but Haku couldn't read it. He had come all the way here, to Montreal in Canada. It was one of the last shows of the tour, and Haku had assisted to all of them so far. It was always the same; all those crazy fans with those Chidori t-shirts, punkish emo styles, a pretty even mix of boys and girls… But even though they pretended to love Chidori's singer, none of them really knew him. Haku did, and he wanted him back. But as he had always told Sasuke, if he couldn't have him, no one else could.

Every time he had been hoping that Sasuke had read his emails, and that he would be allowed back stage after the show, so that they could talk… But it would never happen. Haku knew that now. Sasuke didn't care about him. He didn't give a shit. He hadn't even answered to any of his passionate emails. Hell, he probably didn't even read them. And that pissed Haku off, it was ruining his life. And that was why tonight, his nightmare would end.

- Chidori -

_It's a place of trust_

_Will__ you meet me there?_

_There's no time to spare_

_Come on show me you care…_

Everyone stared at him as he stopped singing. His band stopped playing. The fans, his team back stage; everyone was staring at Sasuke curiously and awkwardly. They were right in the middle of a show, in the middle of performing a song! But he had just stopped, and he was terrified, staring at one particular person he had just noticed right in front of the stage. And that person had just taken out a small handgun from his jacket.

He heard the two shots before he realized they had hit him. He fell to the floor before he realized he was hurt.

Everything became chaos. Security encircled and immobilized Haku, the fans were horrified, and Sasuke's band mates were sitting on the floor surrounding him.

"It's gonna be okay," Suigetsu was saying, holding his hand, "Shizune said an ambulance is on its way. Just hang in there Sasuke."

He tried to focus on his friend, to squeeze his hand back, anything, but consciousness was slipping away. Everything was so blurry…

"Keep your eyes open Sasuke!" Takumi exclaimed.

Sasuke didn't want to keep his eyes open. And even if he wanted to, he couldn't. He was so cold and so tired, and he wanted this chaos around him to disappear.

The last things he thought about before passing out were his family, his mother, who kept blaming him for not calling her often enough, his father, who he had not talked to for an entire year now, and Itachi, Itachi who'd always been there for him, no matter what…

And then, he thought about Naruto, wishing he could hold him in his arms just one last time…

- Chidori -

On Wednesday afternoon, Naruto's interview about the movie Fallen Angel was interrupted by a phone call.

"I'm so sorry," he told the young man interviewing him, but before he closed it he saw that it was Kiba. "Hum, I'm sorry," he apologized again, but for a different reason, "I need to take this."

Kiba would never call him unless it was important; they were touring in North America these days, and it was still very early in the morning there if Naruto was not mistaken… He got up and went outside before the journalist could say anything.

"Hello?"

"Naruto!" Kiba answered, voice sounding very tired, but panicked, "Sasuke's been shot, you need to come here…"

He almost dropped his phone.

"It's Haku," Kiba continued, "he shot him during the show! We're at the hospital now…"

"Is he okay?" Naruto asked urgently.

"We don't know! I wanted to wait before calling you, but they don't tell us anything…"

"Well, where are you?" he clutched the phone tightly.

"General hospital…"

"What town, Kiba?"

"Montreal." He replied quickly. "Suigetsu's calling Itachi right now, maybe you guys can take the same flight."

"Thanks for calling me Kiba." He said sincerely.

"Sure, no problem man."

He hung up, and he realized the young man had joined him outside, staring at him worriedly.

"Sorry but I'll have to reschedule, hum… Just call my agent." He said before walking away quickly.

He hadn't brought his car this time, so he desperately tried to get a taxi. But despite his efforts none of them stopped. He was starting to freak out; what if Sasuke was dying? What if he wanted to see him and Naruto wasn't even there? What if he was already dead?

Fuck, Naruto thought, gripping his hair in frustration, fuck this Haku! Fucking crazy person, going around shooting people like that!

And what if Naruto had accepted to get back with the band right away? He could've been there… Maybe he could've protected him…

His phone rang, interrupting his hysterical train of thoughts, and he answered even if it was an unknown number. He clutched the cell phone as if his life depended on it, hoping for some kind of help.

"Naruto? It's Itachi."

"Itachi! How did you get my number? Wait, I don't care. I have to get to the airport…"

"Calm down, Naruto…"

"How can you tell me to calm down?" He shouted angrily, and people stepped away from him on the sidewalk, a little bit scared.

"I have a jet..."

"Oh," he said dumbly.

He finally managed to stop a taxi, and he repeated the address where Itachi had just told him they could meet. From there they'd go to the airport together and leave right away with Itachi's private jet and a pilot. Naruto was too anxious to marvel on how awesome that was…

Fifteen minutes later the driver dropped him and Itachi was already waiting by his fancy black sports car, his laptop case in the back seat as his only luggage – he had evidently just come out of his office at work.

For the first time since he had first met Itachi, Naruto saw his vulnerable side exposed. Sure he was as handsome and professional as ever, with the fancy car and fancy clothes, but all that didn't hide the fact that he looked scared out of his mind. He was slightly bent, leaning on his car with his hand, and he looked so relieved when he saw Naruto. He couldn't have been waiting more than a few minutes, but they had probably seemed much longer than that.

Seeing Itachi looking scared like that almost made Naruto break down, but instead he made a little reassuring smile as he got in the passenger's seat, and Itachi took place behind the wheel. It had always been Naruto's first reflex in difficult situations to stay strong and reassure others. But as Itachi started driving towards Haneda airport like a mad person, Naruto knew he didn't want to be fed reassuring bullshit.

"Thanks," he whispered instead, and Itachi glanced at him, nodding slightly, then back on the road.

No matter how fast Itachi drove, they couldn't get there fast enough…

* * *

><p>AN: I know you'll hate me for the cliffhanger but, I will update soon. Probably tomorrow, actually, since they're shorter chapters.


	25. Together

Chidori

Chapter 25 – Together

His throat felt so dry. His eyelids were so heavy, but he was waking up, and surely he would have to open them soon. But he was scared of doing so. There was light, and that would hurt. Why couldn't he just go back to darkness? Comfortable, simple, painless good old darkness. But there was this warm hand holding his own cold hand. A gentle, familiar hand, squeezing ever so slightly as if begging for a reaction. A name came to mind, Naruto…

He heard a gasp, not loud, just a whisper, "I'm right here, Sasuke."

Naruto's voice. Had he spoken his name out loud? Probably… He opened his eyes, but immediately he blinked and frowned. Damn light…

"Sasuke!" Naruto leaned closer, "Sasuke…"

"Ya that's my name…"

His voice sounded rasp and strangled, and his throat burned.

"Here." Naruto offered a glass of water, voice full of contained emotion.

His first reflex was to try to move his right arm. Bad idea. His second reflex was to try to sit. Very bad idea. He let out a pained moan, and immediately Naruto put the glass down and sat on the hospital bed next to him.

"Shit, sorry, let me help you," he said, putting one hand on Sasuke's left arm and the other behind his back.

With Naruto's help he managed to somewhat move to a sitting position, but he almost fell unconscious again because the pain was too much to endure. But he fought to stay awake. After drinking some water – using his left hand and trying not to freak out too much about the fact that he couldn't use the other one – he felt a little better. And his eyes were finally able to focus on Naruto's face.

He looked tired. Really tired. He had dark circles under his reddish blue eyes. He had cried; there were marks showing the tracks of tears on his cheeks. But it didn't matter. He was beautiful, he was perfect, and he was here…

Sasuke quickly remembered everything. Haku, the two gun shots, security arresting him, his band mates trying to reassure him, everyone in the theatre panicking… The Montreal show, he remembered, Shizune had probably cancelled and rescheduled it… What about the other shows? He thought about all that very quickly, worried about the consequences for their tour…

He shook his head slightly; he had to calm down. There was no need to freak out now. Glancing around the room, he saw some flowers on the desk, the machines and tubes plugged to his body, the dull white paint on the walls, all in all it looked like a pretty normal hospital room, and very clean, at least. Still, Sasuke hated it. He really hoped he wouldn't have to stay there long…

"How are you feeling?" Naruto asked.

He was still sitting on the hospital bed, his hand holding Sasuke's left hand again with his thumb rubbing circles in his palm soothingly.

"Like I've been shot twice." He answered, his voice sounding a little better.

Naruto chuckled. "You're being a wiseass, now of all times?"

"I guess… So… what's the…" He glanced down at his right arm, which was in a cast. "I mean, how long do you think I'll have to stay here? How long has it been already?" He asked, locking eyes with Naruto again.

"Five days," he answered, "but they said you'll be fine. He got you in the stomach but no vital organs are damaged, and in the arm but with physiotherapy you'll be able to use it again soon," he explained.

"I guess I'm lucky Haku doesn't know how to aim properly with a gun." He said, half-teasing.

"He was still close." Naruto whispered, and Sasuke felt his hand tremble in his.

Tears formed in his blue eyes, and Sasuke frowned slightly. "Hey," he whispered, "don't cry…"

"I'm so glad you're okay," he breathed, and very carefully he wrapped his arms around Sasuke.

He held him back with one arm, breathing in his scent, feeling the warm tears on his exposed neck.

"I should probably call a nurse," Naruto said, pulling away.

"Wait," he replied, "stay a little longer…"

"I'm not going anywhere," he smiled.

Sasuke's heart squeezed in his chest, overwhelmed by his intense feelings for Naruto. He had come all the way from Tokyo…

"But… the movie, your interviews?"

His sentence didn't make much sense, but Naruto understood anyway.

"You're more important," he said simply, "Itachi's here too, I mean, he's at the hotel right now. With the rest of the band."

Sasuke realized just now Naruto was wearing some of Kiba's clothes; red t-shirt and black jeans. Sasuke himself was in a hospital gown of course. How sexy.

"They're all okay?" He asked.

"Yeah, you're the only one who got hurt. Haku's been arrested. He's gonna be judged in court back in Japan, I guess… I'm gonna call Jamie and ask him a few questions," Naruto muttered more to himself, and Sasuke remembered something about that Jamie guy being a criminal law student, "I wanna know how it works. And I really want Haku to rot in jail for the rest of his life."

"Don't worry about that," Sasuke said softly.

"Of course I'm worried," Naruto's gaze drifted to him again, "I don't want you to be hurt again."

Sasuke made a little smile and he glanced away; arguing with Naruto now wouldn't be of any use. Suddenly pain struck him. As if his body had been slow in waking up completely, but now it realized that, hey, it was severely injured so it had to hurt like hell… Great.

"Sasuke?" Naruto asked worriedly, "Are you okay?"

"I…" the words didn't come out. His face had probably paled all of a sudden, because he felt nauseous and his arm and stomach were hurting so damn much, he couldn't even move anymore…

Naruto stormed out of the room, and a few seconds later he came back with a nurse. She had probably already been on her way, because she had the necessary medication to give him.

"Giving me drugs, huh?" He looked up at Naruto as the nurse adjusted his injections, probably morphine. "Well damn, after all my efforts to stop…"

"Idiot, that's not funny." Naruto said, but he was smiling.

The nurse kindly explained him everything from the state of his injuries to the medication they'd given him, but Sasuke felt really dizzy and only half-listened. She seemed to realize this because soon she stopped talking and instead with Naruto they helped him to lie down on the bed again.

"I wanna get out of here." He whispered when she was gone.

Naruto smiled sadly as he brushed his hair softly.

"I know. You will soon."

"I wanna… be with you."

"Do you know how strong a dose she just gave you?" He chuckled as he looked down at him fondly.

"I…" he closed his eyes, but forced them to open again even though everything was so blurry, "Naru..?"

"I'm right here."

"I love you…"

Naruto's lips parted, but nothing came out; Sasuke was already sleeping. He let out a deep breath as he caressed the raven hair softly.

He had to call the others, let them know Sasuke had woken up. Especially Itachi, he had been so worried.

So he got out of the hospital – cell phones weren't allowed in – for the first time in three straight hours and immediately dialled Sasuke's older brother's number.

"Naruto? I'm on my way. Any news?"

He smiled. "Yeah he woke up."

"Oh thank God…"

"But he's asleep again," he added quickly. "They gave him some drugs for the pain…"

"Did he make some smart ass comment about that?"

Naruto laughed. "You know him too well."

"I guess I do. Anyway, like I said I'm on my way. I'll meet you in his room."

"Okay," he hung up and returned inside.

Itachi had been visiting Sasuke every day, just like Naruto. He often brought his laptop with him to keep in touch with the guys replacing him at the company in Tokyo.

A few minutes later Naruto saw him arrive in the hallway, elegant as always in a black suit, laptop case in his hand. Itachi, never one to worry about money, had asked his cleaning lady to pack him some things and send it by special service by plane. There was only one thing different today, he was smiling.

Without a word, Naruto and Itachi walked together to Sasuke's hospital room. The older Uchiha looked down at him for a moment. There was no difference in his appearance, but just knowing that he'd been awake a few moments earlier was probably a great relief.

"Did you call your parents?" Naruto asked softly.

Itachi sighed and took place on the chair in which Naruto had been sitting previously. The blond sat on the bed, careful not to bother Sasuke in his sleep. Fugaku and Mikoto were currently in a one month vacation in the Caribbean islands. Itachi had decided not to alarm them too much, and he only told them Sasuke was at the hospital but that he was fine and would be back on his feet in no time, and that it wasn't necessary for them to come. Of course Naruto had been shocked by this at first, but then Itachi had explained further, saying that it wasn't a good idea for his mother to see Sasuke like this; she'd probably have a heart attack. As for Fugaku, it really wasn't a good idea for him and Sasuke to see each other in these circumstances, it would be extremely awkward and besides, Itachi wasn't sure his father could handle it…

"I left them a message saying he was doing better… But I hadn't told them he was in a coma in the first place, so…"

Naruto nodded slowly, "I get it…"

"If he wants to see them, I'll tell them to come."

"I know," Naruto smiled, "but he probably won't want that."

"Yeah," Itachi chuckled, looking at his brother, "he'll probably tell us it was stupid to come all the way here. He hates the attention. Which is kind of ironic since he's an international superstar…"

Naruto shrugged slightly, "I think he was glad I was here…"

"That's probably the effect of the drugs. His barriers are down."

"Yeah," he chuckled, "but I think it's good for you Uchiha people to let your vulnerable side show sometimes."

"What vulnerable side?" He feigned to be offended.

Naruto laughed, "All right I'll let you work," he pointed his laptop, "I'll go back to the hotel to tell everyone the good news."

"Okay," Itachi made a little smile, "I'll call you if he wakes up again."

"Thanks!"

- Chidori -

Everyone was in the hospital room the next day. Well, everyone except Itachi, he'd had a long talk alone with Sasuke, and then he had returned to Tokyo. Naruto didn't know any more details. But Naruto himself had decided to stay a little longer. Karin kept calling him, and she wanted to kill him. Ariane was also a little pissed; she had to do the promoting pretty much on her own, but of course she understood.

The small room was way too crowded, but it didn't matter; it was obvious that Sasuke was glad to see them all. He was mostly very eager to get out of the hospital, though.

"Don't worry man, you'll be out in no time." Deidara tried to cheer him up.

Hiroshi, standing right next to his boyfriend, nodded. "The nurse told us, you're healing super fast. You're like superman."

"No," Kiba objected. "If he'd be like superman he wouldn't have been hurt in the first place!"

"Shut up Kiba," Suigetsu snapped.

The silver-haired guy was sitting on Sasuke's right side. He had been one of the most affected by Sasuke's coma the past few days, and he had visited him just as often as Naruto and Itachi. Now everyone could see how relieved he was that his best friend was fine.

"There you go!" Suigetsu exclaimed. "I'm the first to sign on it!" He admired his work of art on Sasuke's cast.

"You're aware they're changing it tomorrow, right?" He raised a delicate black eyebrow as he looked at his friend.

"I know. You wouldn't have let me do it otherwise." He laughed.

Naruto smiled. He was being pretty much silent, sitting on Sasuke's left side and holding his hand. Once in a while Sasuke stopped listening to their idiotic friends just to glance at him, silently thanking him for being there, for acting as if they were together again, even though they weren't… Yet, Naruto thought.

Their young agent stepped closer to Sasuke's bed. "So when do you think we'll be able to go back on tour with this super fast healing of yours?" She asked, half-teasing.

"I don't know," the raven sighed, glancing down, "I wish I could go back right now but…"

"Don't worry about it, we've already rescheduled the remaining shows in Canada and the States next month, and they can be rescheduled again if needed!" She smiled.

He shook his head. "Next month will be fine, that's for sure."

"I hope so!" She said.

"We all do." Yahiko entered the conversation, "I really like being on stage even if I know it's not me they want to see," he shrugged and smiled, "It's you so, I hope you get better soon."

"We'll be just as famous as them one day, I'm sure of it." Hidan said.

Hiroshi snorted. "Stop putting so much energy into your religion and actually practice the songs and that would help already…"

"Oh shut up," Hidan snapped.

At least this made Sasuke laugh.

"Actually this is giving me some more time to work on songs for our third album," Takumi, who was sitting beside Suigetsu on the bed, also entered the conversation.

"You're already preparing your third album?" Deidara exclaimed, "Wow!"

"I'm so proud," Shizune said enthusiastically.

"I can't wait to see it," Sasuke smiled at Takumi.

Naruto's heart sank a little at seeing the particular relationship those two had again. He knew they all wanted him back in the band, but would it be the same as before if he came back? Or had Takumi taken his place for good? Maybe there was no place for a fifth member…

"Visit time is over," a passing by nurse told them. "Sorry…"

Suigetsu, Takumi and Naruto were the last ones to leave, staying by Sasuke's side just a little longer than it was allowed. Actually Naruto was a little annoyed that the other two weren't leaving to give them some privacy, but he supposed he was just being selfish… Sasuke wasn't his boyfriend.

Suigetsu was Sasuke's best friend, but he was bisexual, and they'd had sex together once. And Takumi… he was still hard to read for Naruto, but with Sasuke they seemed to understand each other, to be relaying on each other a lot, for songs, for advice concerning life, and love… Naruto was a little jealous that he wasn't the only one for Sasuke any more. But again, he blamed himself for being so selfish.

Unfortunately it was time to go, but they promised Sasuke to be there the next day as well.

- Chidori -

Sasuke was let out a few days later, on April 5th. The Montreal show was rescheduled for the 24th, and the other shows would follow, but he still had a lot of time to get better. Naruto, Suigetsu and Takumi brought him back to the hotel by taxi. They were like the three musketeers, always together – always by Sasuke's side. It was a little bit ridiculous actually; he didn't need three people to help him all the time. His stomach was still bandaged tightly, but the wound was healed, it was mostly to prevent him from moving too much. He couldn't walk too fast, he couldn't bend, he couldn't do quick movements, or it would risk reopening it. But he could walk if he was careful. His arm was also fine, and the cast had been replaced by a simpler orthopaedic arm support.

Basically, they were going back to the hotel just to get his stuff, and afterwards they were taking the plane to Tokyo. The others had already left a few days ago; hotel fees were starting to be really expensive for Sound Records. Naruto, Takumi and Suigetsu had been paying the fees themselves to be able to stay with Sasuke.

Their plane tickets had been paid by Sound Records at least, except Naruto's, but he told Sasuke he was fine because the movie would come out soon and he'd receive a nice pay check.

At the hotel room the three guys were getting ready to go. Sasuke's suitcase was as neat as ever, so he didn't need to do much. He was just sitting on the bed watching them, but there was something he wanted to do. He just felt kind of shy to say it…

"I need to take a shower…"

There, he'd said it. One of the assistant nurses had helped him wash his hair, and in the past few days he'd been able to clean himself in the bathroom connecting to his hospital room at least. But he just really fucking needed a real shower. Problem was, these three paranoid idiots didn't even let him walk on his own, so they'd freak out if he dared going in the bathroom alone…

"I'll help you," Takumi and Suigetsu said at the same time, already stepping closer.

"No! I'll help him." Naruto's voice said a little angrily.

Sasuke had to repress a smile as the blond walked past them and took his left arm, putting it around his strong shoulders, and helped him to the bathroom. Then he let go of his arm to lock the door. For a moment they just stood in front of each other a little awkwardly.

Sasuke removed his arm support and tried to remove his t-shirt, but winced because of the pain. It had been a little embarrassing, but in the morning a nurse had helped him get dressed even though he was wearing simple sweat pants – the skin tight jeans weren't such a good idea with his stomach wound.

Immediately Naruto's hands were on him, helping him take off his shirt carefully. He did the same with the pants. It was kind of awkward, really. He was left in just his boxers, and Naruto turned on the water and waited for it to be warm enough. Sasuke frowned slightly as Naruto quickly undressed himself completely.

"What?" He asked.

"Nothing," Sasuke chuckled.

He removed the bandage around his stomach with his left hand, but it wasn't easy. Naruto pushed his hand away softly and did the work himself.

"They gave me some clean ones so I can make you another one after," he said.

For a moment his fingers caressed the skin around the red mark on his otherwise pale stomach.

"Does it hurt?" he asked, looking up.

"A little," he whispered.

Naruto put the bandage away and helped him take off his boxers. They stepped in the bath and under the shower, and it felt so good for Sasuke to be under the water. He shivered slightly though, it wasn't warm enough. He didn't even need to say anything, Naruto immediately reached to adjust it.

"You know I would've been okay from there, I just needed help for the clothes," he said in a low voice.

Naruto bit his bottom lip slightly, and picked up a clean washcloth and soap.

"I want to help," he shrugged, "but if you don't want me to you should've just said it…"

He swallowed hard, why did Naruto sound so hurt?

"Turn around," Naruto said softly.

Sasuke leaned on the wall with his left arm and rested his head on it as Naruto proceeded to clean him. It felt so soothing and comforting...

"Maybe you'd preferred Suigetsu or Takumi…" Naruto suddenly said.

He frowned and turned around quickly. A little too quickly, his stomach muscles hurt and he almost lost his balance, but Naruto steadied him, worried.

"No quick movements, remember?"

"Naruto… they're just friends," he said in a pained voice.

Naruto still looked sad, unsure…

"I wouldn't have… let them take a shower with me I mean… I just needed help for my clothes but…" He sighed shakily, why was it so complicated all of a sudden?

They were quiet for a moment, avoiding each other's gaze. But at least it wasn't awkward anymore. It wasn't like they'd never seen each other naked before.

"I'm sorry," Naruto finally said. "I guess I became kind of paranoid these past few days…"

"Paranoid? Why?" He tilted his head slightly, searching Naruto's blue eyes.

"I don't know… That you'd choose one of them over me or something…"

Sasuke's lips twitched into a little smile, "Naruto… the line between friendship and love might be thin, but there is one, okay? And…I love _you_, no one else."

There was no point in pretending any longer. It was no newsflash anyway. Naruto wasn't that dumb; his songs were already pretty clear about it, he still loved Naruto, he'd never stop loving him, it was that simple. Why should he be afraid to say it? He'd been close enough to death; he didn't want to be scared to tell the truth anymore.

For a moment the sound of the shower and Naruto's breathing was all he could hear. Sasuke was already embarrassed, so he figured, he might as well keep going…

"To be honest I thought they were kind of annoying, these two," he chuckled, "I appreciate their worrying and all but, I kind of wished they'd left us alone sometimes…"

Naruto smiled, and it was the most beautiful thing in the world to Sasuke. He hadn't seen him smile like that since… he couldn't even remember when.

Naruto's hand, which was still resting on his left shoulder, slid up to the back of his neck, and he pulled his face closer to kiss him. At first Sasuke was shocked; he hadn't been expecting it. But he relaxed, closed his eyes, and kissed back softly. He pulled Naruto closer with his non-injured arm, and he moaned as the kiss became more passionate. Naruto's full lips were so familiar, so perfect, and felt so good against his. Sasuke slid his tongue in Naruto's parted lips and now it was the blond's turn to moan. His needy voice sent a hot feeling to Sasuke's gut and injured or not, he hadn't had sex in like, six months… He was hard.

A loud knock on the door interrupted their heated make out session and they both pulled away, a little bit shocked, as if waking up from a dream.

"Romantic reconciliation is really touching and all," Suigetsu's mocking voice said behind the door, "but I'm not sure fucking is an appropriate activity in your condition Sasuke. Sorry to break the fun!" he added, "but I don't want to see you back at the hospital! Besides, we got a flight to catch…"

"Bad timing?" Naruto whispered.

"As I said, sometimes I find them really annoying." Sasuke said, still panting.

"He's right though," the blond said worriedly, his hands still holding Sasuke, "you don't look too good."

Now that the passion was cooled off, his stomach muscles indeed hurt like a bitch.

"I'll be fine." He said.

"You're barely standing." Naruto replied.

He helped him to finish washing himself quickly, and then he turned off the water and handed him a clean towel. Naruto put his clothes back on, and then helped Sasuke with his. They did this in a record time, but Takumi and Suigetsu still had mocking smiles when they got out of the bathroom.

Sasuke glanced at Naruto carefully, to see his reaction. But he seemed okay, he seemed happy actually. Good, Sasuke thought, he had reassured him, and now he knew Takumi and Suigetsu were just really good friends. Actually, Sasuke knew they were both really happy that things were getting better with Naruto. They knew how important he was for him.

"Should I make you a new bandage?" Naruto asked.

"No I'll be fine." He reassured him.

He put his arm support back on though. Takumi picked up both his suitcase and Sasuke's, and they left the hotel to take a taxi again, to the airport this time. They were heading back to Tokyo to stay there a few weeks, and even though it sucked that the shows had been rescheduled, Sasuke was looking forward to spending time with Naruto.

TBC


	26. Unspoken challenge

Chidori

Chapter 26 – Unspoken challenge

It brought back some memories for Naruto to take the plane with Sasuke and the band. Sure it was a little different, and Kiba wasn't there, but it still felt nice, and nostalgic in a way. Another different detail was that Sasuke was sleeping on Naruto's shoulder, and not the other way around like it always used to be.

He glanced down at him carefully. He looked peaceful, like an angel. Naruto reached with his hand and stroked the raven locks softly. He moved his fingers to his cheek, then his neck, discovering Sasuke's soft, pale skin all over again. He had missed this intimacy. And he'd missed his smell. It wasn't a perfume or a shampoo; it was just Sasuke – this particular odour that was unique and belonged to a person. Some say it's what tells you if you're in love, if you love someone's scent. Probably nonsense, Naruto chuckled to himself, but in any case, he did love it.

When they finally arrived after the long and tiring flight – for Naruto, anyway, he hadn't slept much – they parted with Takumi and Suigetsu, who took a cab together because they lived close. Naruto and Sasuke did the same, and after putting Sasuke's luggage in the car case, he sat with him in the back seat.

The driver was listening to a rock/alternative radio channel, and ironically it played one of Chidori's songs, but he didn't realize he had the singer of that very band sitting in his car. Naruto and Sasuke exchanged a little smile, and the blond took his hand again. He did that a lot lately, but every simple gesture was important to him. He just wanted to show Sasuke in every possible way that he wanted them to be together again.

He was still scared. He couldn't help it; he had suffered so much before… But he had made his decision, he wanted to try again. It would take some more time to fully trust Sasuke though…

"What are you thinking about?" Sasuke asked softly.

Naruto smiled then glanced down to their linked hands resting on Sasuke's thigh. He drifted his gaze to the raven again, and shrugged slightly.

"Just… that I'm happy, right now, I guess…"

"You are?"

That question meant so much more than just what these two words could express. Naruto saw it in Sasuke's deep, dark eyes; he was scared too. But why? If he didn't screw up again, Naruto would never leave him. And even if he did screw up, maybe this time Naruto could actually help. But it was pointless to think about all that. And Sasuke knew it too. So what could he possibly be so scared of?

Before Naruto could say or ask anything, they arrived at their apartment and paid the driver. Once inside, Naruto went directly to lie down on the bed. As for Sasuke, he started unpacking already, using just one arm and of course putting everything neatly in its place.

"You should do that tomorrow." Naruto suggested.

Sasuke chuckled and went to open the curtain to their bedroom window.

"It's two in the afternoon Naruto."

He closed his eyes and yawned. "Who cares? I feel like it's night…"

Sasuke continued unpacking, bringing some things in the bathroom.

"Jet lag…" he said simply.

"Come here." Naruto pleaded.

Sasuke was almost done anyway, so he complied, lying down on the bed next to Naruto.

"What now?" He asked and Sasuke turned on his side to look at him, raven bangs falling into his eyes.

"What do you mean?" He replied softly.

"You know what I mean…"

Sasuke let out a deep sigh, and then said. "You tell me."

"I wanna take things slow."

Sasuke made a little smile. "That's okay."

"And… I'm still kinda scared." Naruto started hesitantly, but he wanted them to be honest with each other, "that it's not gonna work. That our lifestyle choices will be too different. I know you changed," he added quickly, even though Sasuke wasn't protesting, "But for how long?"

Sasuke glanced away, his smile gone, and then locked eyes with Naruto again. "I'm not going back to taking drugs. But I know saying it doesn't change anything. I guess I'll just have to… try to earn your trust again."

"Yeah…" he said slowly. "What about you? Are you scared too?"

"You have no idea how scared I am."

"Why?" He frowned slightly.

Sasuke's beautiful face looked so sad as he whispered, "Because I don't want to lose you again."

You won't, Naruto wanted to reply, but he couldn't. They'd just have to take things slow, like he'd said before. All that heavy emotional talking didn't help the fact that he felt so damn tired…

He got up lazily only so that he could close the curtains and turn off the lights, plunging the room into a semi-obscurity. Then Naruto went back on the bed, this time behind Sasuke, spooning him gently. He was careful not to hurt his arm. He kissed the nape of his neck softly, and nuzzled his face into his raven hair.

Sasuke chuckled softly, but didn't move. "Who said it was time to sleep?"

"I did," Naruto whispered.

"…Okay."

- Chidori -

A week later, Naruto had realized that with Sasuke, they didn't have much choice but to take things slow anyway. Even though they lived together, they barely saw each other! And the one to blame for that was Naruto's crazy, over productive agent Karin of course. He had so many god damn interviews! For television shows, for magazines, for newspapers, for radio shows; they were endless. At least, most of the time they were fun and interesting, and Naruto was asked questions about the movie Fallen Angel, his co-stars Ariane and Anthony, his director Kakashi, and just the story in general and his particular character, Ryan.

But sometimes they were stupid interviews, and Naruto was getting really sick and tired of stupid interviews. Like today, unfortunately…

"Is Ariane-chan a good kisser?"

He had to resist the urge to glare at the young woman interviewing him for a girly magazine. They were sitting in a nice little sea food restaurant, and Naruto had a free meal. But it didn't help the fact that this interview was retarded, like so many others…

"Yeah," he finally said matter-of-factly.

The woman still squealed like a stupid teenage fan girl, "There have been rumours that you were together in a relationship! Are they true?"

"No, we're just friends," he gave this answer for what felt like the hundredth time in a week.

"Oh, and, well, do you have a girlfriend?"

He had to resist the urge to face palm this time, and it wasn't easy…

"Nope," he finally answered with a smile.

He was an actor after all, and he had to maintain his nice-and-handsome-young-promising-star reputation.

That evening when he got back home, he was exhausted. He felt like spending a nice, quiet evening with Sasuke. Well though luck, Kiba and Suigetsu were there…

"Hey Naruto what's up?" Kiba asked as Naruto slipped off his shoes.

"Not much…" he went to look in the fridge, to see that it was empty.

"We ordered pizza," Suigetsu told him.

"Cool," Naruto went to sit on the couch beside a very quiet Sasuke who was reading a magazine.

A magazine with Naruto and Ariane on the cover. That couldn't be good…

He took the magazine from his hands, and sure enough, he'd been reading an article on them. He remembered that article now, it had been another stupid interview, plus a photo shoot. The pictures were nice; Ariane was wearing a black top showing her cleavage with a tiny denim skirt, thighs and high heel black boots, and Naruto fit blue jeans and a black long sleeve v-neck shirt. Their hair had also been styled by experts; Ariane's were wavy and luscious, and Naruto's were sleek but slightly messy – this look that was meant to seem like the person had just woken up, but really it took hairdressers an hour to make.

Even if the pictures were nice and all, Naruto was still pissed that Sasuke was reading this stuff, and he made it known clearly enough…

"Why are you reading this crap?"

Sasuke shrugged helplessly, but didn't answer. Suigetsu beat him to it.

"I was hanging out with Karin earlier and she'd received a free sample of this magazine in her mail, so after reading it she was about to throw it away, but I took it instead." He smiled.

"Why?" Naruto asked, annoyed.

"Cause it's funny!" He exclaimed, and taking the magazine from him he started to read. _"Naruto and Ariane have an inexplicable complicity, they just seem made for each other, and despite the fact that they're denying a relationship, we can't help but think they're hiding something…"_

"Stop it!" Naruto ripped the magazine from him again.

The others were all laughing, even Sasuke was smiling. Naruto sighed and finally laughed, too.

"An inexplicable complicity. Wow…" he sighed again.

The pizza arrived soon after and thankfully the magazine of doom wasn't mentioned again. They ate while watching a horror movie – three against one, Naruto had lost. He hated stupid horror movies, not because he found them scary, just because the story was never good and it was always so creepy.

Okay, so maybe he found them a little scary. And he had the reflex to jump out of his skin very often while watching them. Sasuke had his arm firmly around his shoulders as they sat on the couch, and every time he jumped it made the raven chuckle quietly.

"Naruto's scared!" Kiba mocked.

"No, shut up!" He replied childishly, throwing a pillow at him.

But apparently Kiba was more mature than he used to be, because they didn't get into a little playful fight. Instead Kiba started texting.

"Who're you texting?" Suigetsu asked, curious.

"Sarah," he replied without looking up from his cell.

"Did you tell her you cheated on her while on tour?" The silver-haired guy asked mockingly.

"Yeah," Kiba replied casually to everyone's surprise.

"And you're still together?" Naruto asked, shocked.

Sasuke was staying quiet, but Naruto knew he was distracted from the movie and listening to their conversation.

"She forgave me," Kiba shrugged.

"You are such an asshole," Suigetsu mused.

"Look who's talking!" The brunet snapped, "Mister crazy-horny-bisexual-I-like-to-fuck-everyone-dick-or-not!"

"Oh is that my new nickname?" Suigetsu asked, "Cause I like it. Thanks, Kiba."

Naruto frowned as they literally started fighting in the middle of the living room.

"Could you move a bit guys, I was watching that," Sasuke said.

Naruto got up to split them, "Guys! Stop it! Come on…"

It wasn't too hard to stop them. They were pretty much obeying Naruto as if he were a superior entity. After that they just went back to sitting peacefully. Kiba eventually left to go out alone with Sarah instead.

"You guys tell me if you want me to go, okay?" Suigetsu looked at them.

"You can stay all you want dude don't worry about it." Naruto smiled.

"Thanks, I'm not exactly in a rush to go back home. With Kiba and Sarah there…"

"I thought they were going out?" The blond asked, frowning.

Suigetsu snorted. "Going out my ass. More like fucking absolutely everywhere in the apartment while I'm not there."

The movie was over and they had just switched to watching some drama television show instead without really caring.

"Why don't you move with Karin?" Sasuke asked.

"Yeah it's true she's looking for an apartment in Tokyo." Naruto added, glancing at Suigetsu.

"Yeah that's what I was thinking," he sighed. "Even though we're not officially together or anything. I mean it seems to be working well for you guys, so…"

"Yeah," Naruto said thoughtfully, "How's it going with Karin anyway?"

"We're… dating, I guess," he smiled. "It's nice I mean I really, really love her. I always have I was just too dumb to realize it."

"That's great," Naruto said honestly.

"I know, that was so romantic!" Suigetsu said in an exaggerated dramatic voice, "I should be the song writer!" He tried to imitate Sasuke's singing voice, "I really love you! I always have! I was just too dumb to realize it!"

It didn't sound anything like Sasuke's voice. Naruto threw a pillow at him. Soon he would be out of pillows to throw at idiotic people in this room.

Suigetsu laughed, "I guess I should just stick to screamo."

"You do that," Sasuke chuckled.

They hung out a little bit more, but the three of them were starting to get really sleepy. They took pity of Suigetsu – Naruto did, anyway – and offered their living room couch for him to crash.

Once they were ready to go to bed, Sasuke closed the door, stripped to his boxers and crawled in the sheets next to Naruto.

Sasuke kissed his lips softly, and then turned around, his back facing him.

"Good night," he said.

"Night," Naruto whispered.

But Naruto wasn't sleepy anymore. Sure they were taking things slow, but sleeping in the same bed every night didn't help taking things slow. At all. Naruto knew that Sasuke desired him too, but the bastard was just better at hiding it. It had only been a week, but everyday it was harder to resist jumping on Sasuke – no pun intended.

It was becoming kind of a little unspoken challenge between them; who would be the first to give in?

Definitely not him, Naruto thought. So he also curled up on his side and closed his eyes. It took him a really long time to fall asleep though.

Well maybe he would be the first to give in... But not yet.

The weekend was also spent promoting the movie for Naruto. It premiered in May in Tokyo, and he was starting to really look forward to it. Promoting was fun for a while, but now it was getting really annoying. They were always asking the same god damn questions, and besides it was cutting off all his time with Sasuke. In a few days he would have to go back to North America with the band to finish the tour after all… Naruto hoped that they would have at least some time to themselves before that.

* * *

><p>AN: Of course they will :P

Lol, hope you liked it, to give you an idea, I can already tell you that there are four chapters left. Thanks for reading^^


	27. Match makers

Chidori

Chapter 27 – Match makers

On Monday evening, after another tiring interview and photo shoot for a movie magazine, Naruto got back home to find Sasuke dressed very nicely. He was spending a lot of time with a physiotherapist, and it was working well. He was able to get dressed by himself at this point, and today he had dropped the sweat pants for nice black jeans and a fancy blue button-up shirt. He had also straightened his hair and put on black eyeliner.

"You going somewhere?" Naruto asked in a forced casual tone.

He was trying to hide it, but he was terrified that Sasuke wanted to go party with some friends… Without him.

But Sasuke smiled and came to kiss him. "No, _we_ are going somewhere." He whispered in his ear.

"Where?"

"Itachi's inviting us to a ridiculously expensive restaurant to show off how rich he is." Sasuke chuckled.

"Cool," Naruto laughed, feeling more relaxed.

Sasuke pulled away slightly to lock eyes with him.

"You thought…?" Sasuke's voice broke slightly.

Naruto didn't know what to say. There was no denying it; he had thought that maybe Sasuke was going out on his own to club and party, like he used to before.

But once again Sasuke smiled and kissed him. "I'm sorry, never mind."

Of course, Sasuke would never blame him for not trusting him. But he could still be very sad about it. And Naruto felt sad, too.

"I'm gonna go get ready." He said and Sasuke nodded.

Naruto took a quick shower, wiping off the makeup on his face they had made him wear for the photo shoot. Then he put on some dark blue skinny jeans and a white button down shirt with sleeves rolled up at the elbows. Too lazy to do anything about his hair, he let it dry in its natural fucked up spiky style. He was about to join Sasuke when his cell phone rang. It was Ariane.

"Hey gorgeous," she said, "wanna go out tonight? Anthony's in town so he's gonna be there, and also Karin with Suigetsu, and a few others…"

"Nope, sorry beautiful, I'm already taken!" He replied.

"Aw spending time with that hot boyfriend of yours again?"

"And his brother," He added.

"He has a _brother_?" She exclaimed, "Why didn't you tell me he had a brother?"

Naruto laughed and was about to reply when Sasuke stepped in the room, probably to ask what was taking so long, but he just stood there quietly as he saw that Naruto was on the phone.

"How old is he?" Ariane asked.

"Uh, I dunno… How old is Itachi?" He asked Sasuke.

"He's 24, why?" The raven frowned.

Naruto didn't have to repeat it, Ariane had heard it already.

"Is he single?" She asked.

"Yeah," he answered, amused.

"You should totally introduce me some time!" She exclaimed.

She had a point. Why hadn't it thought of it before? Itachi and Ariane… it could work.

"How about tonight?" Super-awesome-match-maker-Naruto asked her.

"You serious?"

"Yeah! Wait a second."

He held the phone away and looked at Sasuke, who was standing in the doorframe with his arms crossed and an amused smile on his lips.

"Can I invite her?"

"Sure, why not?" Sasuke chuckled, "I'm gonna call Itachi."

Sasuke went to the living room to get his cell phone, letting Naruto finish his conversation with his actress friend. Itachi picked up after only one ring.

"Sasuke? Is everything all right?" He asked urgently.

"Yes, jeez calm down…"

Ever since he had been shot, Itachi was constantly paranoid and believed his little brother was in danger of dying at every second of every day.

"Naruto wants to invite a friend, is that all right?" He asked.

"A female friend?" Itachi asked, sounding suspicious.

"Yeah. An actress. She's very pretty." He said teasingly.

"Sasuke, you promised me not to play match maker for me."

"I'm not, it's Naruto. Blame him." He said, smiling at Itachi's annoyed tone. "Besides, the girl wants to meet you."

"Cause I'm your brother?"

"…Yeah."

Itachi sighed. "She's not like, sixteen at least?"

"No I think she's twenty."

"She's gonna be twenty one in June." Naruto said behind him.

"What date?" Sasuke asked, turning to face him.

Itachi's birthday was June 9.

"The 9th I think," Naruto shrugged, "she's already organizing a big party or something."

Well damn…

"You hear that nii-san?" He asked in the phone, "same birth date as you! It must be a sign."

"This is beneath you." Itachi replied.

He chuckled. "Whatever, I'll see you later."

He hung up before Itachi could protest.

"Let's go!" Naruto exclaimed. "We have to pick her up at her hotel, and I'm…"

"You're driving, I know!" Sasuke finished for him.

Naruto smiled as they made their way to the parking.

They took place in Naruto's orange car, and he started driving. They put the radio on some random popular channel, not too loud, with the windows down. It was nice outside, not too cold, not too hot; just one of those perfect spring days that didn't last long enough and were soon replaced by the too hot weather of summer. The sky was just starting to get darker.

His eyes swerved to Naruto, who as always seemed to be enjoying driving his manual transmission car, a little bit too fast at that. But Sasuke was already used to it because of Itachi. The lucky bastards had never got caught by the cops, but it ought to happen some day, he thought, amused.

Ariane was already waiting for them outside the hotel. She looked very nice in high heel sandals and a short white strapless dress, which contrasted nicely with her long curly black hair. She smiled when she saw Naruto's car, and came to sit in the back.

"I don't think you two have ever been properly introduced, but Sasuke this is my beautiful co-star Ariane, and Ariane this is…" he was clearly hesitating to say boyfriend, which amused Sasuke and made him a little sad at the same time, "Sasuke, famous singer of Chidori," he finally said, and Sasuke rolled his eyes.

Naruto started driving again, and Sasuke turned to look at her.

"Nice to meet you officially," he said with a little smile. After all, he had seen her back at the Kyoto show, but of course his focus had been all on Naruto so he had barely noticed her. "I've heard a lot about you," he added.

"It's so nice to meet you too," she smiled back, "I'm gonna make a fool of myself and say that I'm a big fan but hey, it's the truth!"

"Thanks," he replied, amused.

"And I've heard a lot about you too," she said with a mischievous smile.

"Really?" he raised a brow, looking at Naruto.

"No not really," she laughed, "actually, he was shy about it. But hey honestly I'm so glad you guys are together again!"

"Thanks," he said again.

One of her most striking features was her almond-shaped green eyes, contrasting with her otherwise Asian appearance. Yep, Itachi would like her. He'd always had a thing for green eyes. And Sasuke didn't want to say it in front of Naruto because Sakura was his friend but, this Ariane girl seemed to have a much more interesting personality.

"That's the address Itachi gave us." Naruto eventually said, pulling in the parking of a fancy restaurant/lounge.

After they had gotten out of the car Sasuke walked in the restaurant first, Naruto and Ariane following him.

"Do you have a reservation?" A hostess asked him, smiling.

"Yes, at the name Uchiha please."

"Of course," her smile widened, "follow me."

She walked up the stairs to the third floor, and they followed her all the way to the last booth, right beside the window with a nice view of the city.

"This place is really nice." Ariane said as she took place in front of Naruto.

Sasuke sat beside him, also admiring the dim light of the chandeliers and the eccentric and dark decoration. But when he glanced back at his friends, they weren't admiring the decoration anymore.

"Okay that car is so cool." Ariane said with wide eyes as she looked down at the parking entrance.

Naruto also seemed impressed. Sasuke leaned closer to him so that he could glance down as well. Oh God, what a show off… He thought when he realized that was his brother in his newest car, a black Lamborghini.

"Would you like anything to drink?" A waitress suddenly appeared.

"Oh, we'll wait for my brother," Sasuke said, "he'll be here in a minute."

"Was that him?" Ariane exclaimed when the waitress was gone. "Was that his car?"

"Yeah," Sasuke said.

"Wow," she whispered.

Sure enough, Itachi appeared a moment later, with his usual ponytail and black suit, and he came to sit in front of Sasuke.

"Hey Itachi, so this is Ariane my friend and co-star," Naruto smiled at her, then looked back at the older Uchiha, "and Ariane this is Sasuke's big brother Itachi!"

"Nice to meet you," Itachi smiled at her.

"Nice to meet you too," she smiled back, and then she glanced at Sasuke and back to Itachi, "You two look so alike, it's crazy."

"You should've seen when Sasuke had longer hair," Naruto replied. "They were like twins!"

"Some people were asking me autographs." Itachi chuckled.

"You liked it." Sasuke said just to provoke him.

It worked.

"Oh just shut up," Itachi muttered.

The waitress interrupted their pleasant little conversation to ask them if they wanted drinks again. This time they ordered; Sasuke simply asked for a glass of water, and Itachi ordered a bottle of wine, that he offered to share with the two others.

The waitress left them in silence again. Thankfully Naruto was there – he could never stay quiet very long, and in those slightly awkward circumstances it was very convenient.

"I'm so tired of promoting the damn movie," he told Ariane.

As for Sasuke he was kind of tired of hearing Naruto repeat that all the time. But he made no comment. Instead he observed his brother. When Itachi wasn't busy glaring at Sasuke for playing match maker behind his back – which he didn't really, but oh well – he was looking carefully at the girl sitting beside him. It was obvious Itachi was intrigued and, well, attracted to her.

"Oh I know!" She laughed, flipping her long curly hair behind her shoulder. "It's always the same questions. But I'm used to it. For you it's your first big role in a movie so I guess it's worst."

"Yeah," Naruto replied thoughtfully, "but I hate it when they ask random useless questions that don't even have anything to do with the actual movie."

"I hear ya," she sighed, "Is Naruto a good kisser? Is he a better kisser than what's-his-name other actor I've played with before… It's getting annoying, really."

Sasuke raised an amused brow at her, "And what were your answers to those questions might I ask?"

"Well," she put her joined delicate hands on the tables and looked at him, equally amused, "I answered that he was a great kisser, actually, and I've kissed many people. So I can tell you that you are lucky, Sasuke."

He leaned back in his seat with an amused little smile lingering on his lips as the waitress came back with his glass of water, the bottle of their best wine and three cups. She poured the wine and then left because, well, they hadn't even opened their menus yet.

So they did just that, and discussed what dish they should choose for a moment. Well actually, Naruto spotted ramen on the menu and his choice was made. As for Sasuke and Ariane, they asked Itachi for advice because he was the only one who'd been to this restaurant before.

The waitress conveniently arrived at the exact moment they had made their choice – she was probably doing it on purpose. So they ordered and afterwards they were left again in somewhat of an awkward silence. But this time, surprisingly, it was broken by Itachi.

"So considering what you said before, you're both sick and tired of talking about your movie, so I guess I shouldn't ask…"

Naruto made a little laugh. "No it's okay. What do you wanna know?"

Itachi shrugged slightly. "To be honest I have no idea what it's about. I'm not really aware of what's going on, culturally speaking."

"Why am I not surprised?" Sasuke rolled his eyes.

Itachi was just like their father. His favourite activities outside of work were practicing martial arts, listening to classical music, investing his money in the stock market and showing off said money. But at least, the difference with Itachi was that he was really open minded, and wasn't afraid to try new things.

"It's a love story, actually." Ariane answered him.

"There's some action too." Naruto added.

"Yeah, but mostly it's a love story." She shrugged, glancing back at Itachi. "The title's Fallen Angel, and actually that's my character's dancer name. So basically this guy, Naruto's character, goes to the wrong club with his friends. They're tourists, so they're kind of lost. They end up going to the club where she's dancing of course. And our characters spend this amazing night together. They have sex of course but that's because our director's a pervert…" she rolled her eyes.

"Did you know Kakashi used to make porn movies?" Naruto asked, laughing.

"Yeah, like I said, pervert," she sighed, turning back to the raven beside her, "So anyway, Ryan, well Naruto's character, at first he seems a bit geeky, but actually he's a really spontaneous, passionate and romantic guy…"

"That's good," the blond interrupted her, "that's really good! I should use that for my interviews."

"Actually," Sasuke stepped in the conversation, "that sounds a lot like you. I mean it must not have been that hard to play, really."

"Hey it _was_ though!" Naruto protested.

"Guys," Ariane interrupted them, offended, "I'm trying to explain. Do you mind?" They went quiet, and she looked back at a very amused Itachi again. "So as I was saying, this guy, after spending an intense night with her, he takes the decision that he's gonna take her away from that shit hole, and that they're gonna be together. So he does everything he can to achieve that… I'm not gonna say it's the best movie of all times, but it's a good romance movie," she finished, smiling.

"Well, how does it end?" Itachi inquired.

"I'm not gonna tell you of course. You'll have to come to the premiere. I'll make sure you're invited." She added.

"When is it?" He asked.

"May 9th, it's a Wednesday, 8 pm I think."

Naruto looked at her in amazement, "How do you know all these details?"

She glanced at him, "I actually ask questions to our agent, I don't always wait for her to call me."

Naruto grumbled something incoherent.

"Well, I'll be there." Itachi finally said, making Ariane smile.

"Great."

Sasuke frowned as he observed his brother. If he wasn't mistaken, Itachi looked a little bit nervous. Oh God, Itachi nervous? Where has the world gone to, Sasuke chuckled at his own humour. But it was true; Itachi was never nervous, especially not for a girl. With Sakura, he had been over confident from the beginning. But with this girl, well, let's just say she was something else entirely, and Itachi knew it.

"Do I have something on my face?" Itachi suddenly snapped at him.

Sasuke glanced away, amused. "No…"

The waitress arrived with their food. Damn, she really had perfect timing, Sasuke thought. Everyone forgot about his staring at Itachi, and instead they enjoyed their meal. The food was very good, actually, and if there was a time in which even Naruto stopped talking, it was while eating ramen.

"Do you want some wine, Sasuke?" Naruto asked him at some point.

"I'm not sure…" he hesitated.

The blond offered his cup. "It's really good, just taste it, it's not gonna kill you."

Looking into Naruto's gentle blue eyes he wondered if this was some sort of message – an I-don't-care-if-you-drink kind of message. He thanked him and took a sip of wine casually. But really, he hoped that if it was a message, it meant more than that. Sasuke hoped it meant, I trust you.

They talked some more about the movie, and then Itachi about his job, but after that they decided – actually Naruto decided – no more talking about work. At that point they were finished eating, and Itachi had asked for a second bottle of wine. After that the conversation took an interesting, but strange turn…

"I was always really curious about gay men," Ariane was saying, "and actually you're the first gay couple that I meet. Well I mean, that I actually get to talk to."

"I don't like where this is going." Naruto face palmed.

Itachi's face was expressionless, and Sasuke frowned as he looked at her.

"What are you so curious about?" He asked her.

"Well you see Sasuke, I'm curious about a lot of things," she answered, smiling, "but some things I'm not gonna ask in front of your brother, I don't think that would be a good idea. I'm gonna leave that for another time…"

"Oh God," Naruto shook his head in despair.

"Relax Naruto," she laughed, "okay here it is, did you guys ever had girlfriends before?"

"No," the blond answered.

"Well you could consider Haku as a girlfriend…" Sasuke chuckled.

He felt Naruto tense beside him.

"How can you talk about him like that? Like nothing's happened…"

It was a touchy subject for Naruto. Haku was a criminal and in jail now, and perhaps Naruto was right and he shouldn't talk about that so casually. He'd probably had a little bit too much wine. The hard working waitress had brought him a cup when she'd noticed he was stealing wine from Naruto's, and since Ariane kept refilling everyone with the bottle of wine, Sasuke thought perhaps he'd had too much for someone who hadn't drunk in six months.

"Sorry," he finally said, taking Naruto's hand under the table.

"It's okay," the blond said in a low voice.

"I'm sorry I didn't mean to bring up any awkward subject," Ariane bit her bottom lip slightly.

"Don't worry about it," the raven shrugged, taking another sip of wine even though he had just told himself he should slow down.

"I guess I was just curious cause there's this annoying saying that gay men always try with girls first, so they have girlfriends when they're like, teenagers, and then they realize that, oh my God I'm gay, and then they have boyfriends," she said.

"I guess it's not always true," Sasuke shrugged again, keeping his hand linked with Naruto's and squeezing it slightly. Naruto squeezed back and it made him smile.

"Probably not," Ariane continued, "because I mean, straight people don't try with people of the same sex first, and then move on to people of the opposite sex. So why should gay people do that?"

"Well that's obvious," Sasuke replied, "most of them try to blend in at first. To be accepted by their parents, society…"

"But that's no longer needed! We have a really free society now," Ariane insisted.

"Unfortunately, a lot of people are still very close minded," Itachi replied this time, exchanging a glance with his brother. They were both thinking about their father, of course.

She turned to look at him, "I guess you're right," she finally said, sighing, "but it sucks…"

"Let's not talk about depressing things like that," Naruto said.

"Well, what do you want to talk about?" She asked as she once again refilled Sasuke's glass.

"I don't know," the blond shrugged slightly, "oh, let's talk about your next movie project!"

"Which one?" she sighed, "I have tons. It's crazy, I have so many scripts to read… Directors all over Japan and Europe want me in their movies… At least Karin's helping me, and when it's crap she declines without asking me to read it."

"Well are there any that sound interesting?" Itachi asked her.

"Yes, actually," she smiled at him, "there is one. It's a ninja movie. Collaboration between a Chinese and Japanese directors."

"And would you be playing a bad ass sexy ninja girl?" Naruto asked teasingly, "Or a damsel in distress again?"

She glared at him. "Do you seriously think I'd consider the offer interesting if I'd be playing a damsel in distress again?"

Itachi chuckled, "So I take it it's the – how did you say it Naruto? – bad ass sexy ninja girl then?

"Exactly," she smiled. "I've already told Karin I accepted the offer. I can't wait! It's gonna be a lot of work, but an awesome challenge. I'm gonna have to learn martial arts for the choreographies."

"Let me know if you need help, I'm black belt in most martial arts." Itachi suggested.

"Show off." Sasuke chuckled.

"Well maybe he's showing off, but at least it's useful information," Ariane shrugged, and then, smiling, she glanced at Itachi, "thanks for the offer, that'd be great."

The wine was finished, and it was getting a little late, so they decided it was time to go – needless to say Itachi took the bill.

As they stood outside in the fresh air, Itachi took off his black jacket to put it on Ariane's naked shoulders. Sasuke resisted the urge to make the sound "aww" because saying that this would be un-uchiha like would be a major understatement. Actually Sasuke was clinging to Naruto for warmth himself, so he wasn't in any place to make comments.

"This was great guys thank you so much for inviting me," Ariane said sincerely, clutching Itachi's jacket a little closer around her thin body. "And actually, as I told Naruto earlier I was invited to a party tonight, and I'd like to invite you…"

"I'm not sure," Itachi hesitated. "It's a week night, work tomorrow…"

"I thought you were your own boss," she smiled mischievously, "no one's gonna give you shit if you come in to work late just one day."

"That's for sure, but…"

She raised a delicate eyebrow, and took off the jacket to hand it back to Itachi, "It's okay, I'm not forcing you."

He glanced away and shook his head slightly, obviously he was giving in.

"Keep it," he told her. "I'm going. But you have to ride with me. For the directions to get there, of course," he added.

Not to show off his new fancy car, of course not. Sasuke buried his face in Naruto's neck to repress a laugh.

"I got no problem with that," she smiled, putting the black jacket back on her shoulders and taking him by the arm. "We'll meet you there guys? Just follow Itachi's car then!" she exclaimed, glancing back at them, and didn't even wait for their answer.

"I guess we're going." Naruto chuckled.

"I guess we are."

* * *

><p>AN: I am so sorry for the lateness of this update! This is late for me, anyway lol. So let me be a good fanfic writer and make up an excuse... just kidding lol actually I just moved in a new apartment and I don't have internet yet... Can you imagine? No internet! Lol so yeah here I am in a coffee shop updating and hopefully I will be back soon with my faster updates! I love you guys thanks for the support xxx


	28. Loving you again

Chidori

Chapter 28 – Loving you again

They made their way to Naruto's car and parted to take place on each side. The blond waited for Itachi to pull away from the parking, and then followed him all the way to the club downtown. He cut some other cars skilfully in the process…

"You're aware you're gonna get arrested some day, right?" Sasuke asked him teasingly.

Naruto shrugged, "Whatever."

"Idiot," he said fondly.

"I can't feel insulted if you say it like that." Naruto laughed.

"Sorry."

"Why are you apologizing?"

"I don't know…"

"Don't drink at the club okay?" Naruto told him, amused, "You're drunk enough already."

"I'm not drunk," he replied, slightly offended, as he glanced out the window.

He wasn't really drunk.

But an hour later, he was.

The whole group was there. Except Ino and Yoshikazu; Ino had school early in the morning on weekdays. But apparently all the others didn't have such worries. Naruto and Ariane's actor friend Anthony was there with his douche bag friends who just spent every second of their time at the club trying to get girls to dance with them. Suigetsu was there with Karin, and actually they were adorable. They seemed to be just slightly drunk, dancing together a little shyly. As for Kiba and Sarah, there was nothing adorable about them. That couple was quite easy to describe actually; put a pervert and a nymphomaniac together, that was it.

Ariane and Itachi were sitting together on bar stools, sipping fancy cocktails and flirting obviously, but whenever Sasuke glanced at his brother he smiled – Itachi seemed to be having so much fun, and he thought that was great.

Hiroshi and Deidara were dancing like crazy horny people, Konan, Naruto and Hidan were dancing like normal people, Yahiko and Takumi were getting drunk at the bar and… so was Sasuke.

"Cheers!" Yahiko said as he knocked his beer against Sasuke's and Takumi's, and then the three of them drank at the same time.

"This is nice guys." Takumi said drunkenly, "It's been a while since I've partied like that."

"Can't beat me," Sasuke chuckled, "it's been a really long time."

"Yeah… you seem fine though." Takumi shrugged.

"Well Naruto and I are kinda back together so…" he smiled as he looked at the blond who was by far the best and hottest dancer in the club. But maybe he was biased.

"That's great man." Takumi smiled and tapped his shoulder in a friendly way. "I'm so happy for you."

"Thanks man, I appreciate."

"Yahiko!" A female voice suddenly exclaimed behind them, "Stop getting drunk and come dance with me!"

"Okay…"

The red-head singer of Akatsuki let himself be dragged on the dance floor by Konan, leaving Takumi and Sasuke alone at the bar, laughing.

"Ah this feels good…" Sasuke said as he tilted his head back slightly. He felt so light-headed.

"Yup," Takumi took another sip of his beer, "nothing like the taste of a hangover in the making…"

Sasuke chuckled, "Well said, but I don't really want to think about the hangover right now…"

He glanced at Naruto, and when their eyes met the blond stopped dancing to walk towards him instead.

"But like I said don't worry about it you look fine," Takumi was saying, "you don't even look drunk…"

They had been sitting on bar stools all this time, but when Sasuke tried to stand everything became blurry around him, and he lost his balance and fell… into Naruto's waiting arms.

"I take that back." Takumi laughed.

"Sorry," Sasuke looked up into Naruto's eyes.

"You're so drunk." The blond chuckled.

"…Yeah."

There was no denying it this time. But he could still stand on his own; he had just lost his balance because he had stood up too quickly. So he took Naruto's hand and led him to the back of the dance floor. His stomach and arm muscles still hurt a little bit sometimes because of his injuries, but alcohol was a good pain killer so right now they didn't bother him in the slightest. He looked at Naruto through half-lidded eyes as he started moving. He let his raven bangs fall into his face as he moved his hips to the beat, perfectly aware of the fact that Naruto's eyes were all over him – that was kinda the point.

Sasuke hadn't expected to go out clubbing that evening, and if it hadn't been from Ariane they wouldn't have, but he was kinda glad to get this opportunity. And he knew he shouldn't be proud for getting drunk like his other idiotic friends, but in a way, it helped him overcome his fears and uneasiness when it came to Naruto.

But since he hadn't expected to go out, he hadn't chosen the best clothes. His black jeans were fit and low waist at least, but the button down shirt was bothering him. So he decided to remove it to keep just the skin tight black tank top he was wearing underneath. His clumsy drunken fingers were having trouble with the damn buttons though…

Naruto moved closer and pushed his hands away softly. "Need help?" He whispered teasingly.

The blond helped him and he took off his shirt, putting it on an unused small table nearby. Sasuke decided maybe he could help Naruto with his shirt as well…

"Sasuke stop," Naruto laughed as he pushed his hands away, "I'm not wearing anything underneath."

"So?" He said with a playful smile.

"Shut up and dance with me." Naruto chuckled, moving even closer and putting his hands on Sasuke's hips.

He complied willingly. He entangled his fingers in Naruto's soft blond locks, and put his other hand at the crook of his back. He buried his face into his neck and then started kissing the soft tan skin there. Naruto moaned and tilted his head to the side, encouraging Sasuke to continue kissing him.

"I missed you so much." He whispered in his ear.

"We just spent the whole week together." Naruto replied.

Sasuke pulled away slightly, and locking eyes with deep blue ones he knew that Naruto knew exactly what he meant. He probably just wanted to hear him say it. Well, if he wanted to hear it, he would.

"I mean all those months apart," he whispered, leaning closer, "I missed you so damn much Naruto."

"Me too," the blond breathed before kissing him passionately.

It wasn't anything like the little, soft kisses they'd been exchanging when Naruto came back home in the evenings, or before going to bed. No, this was just like in the shower of the hotel in Montreal, a week and a half ago. Except this time, no one would interrupt them…

"Sasuke?" Takumi's urgent voice said.

Well damn you irony, Sasuke thought as he pulled away from Naruto reluctantly.

"Kimi's here." He said.

"Where?" He asked, searching the room.

Takumi ran his fingers through his long black hair nervously as he glanced behind him, then back at Sasuke.

"She's over there dancing with her friends… I don't know them." He said.

Sasuke had spotted her. She wasn't too far, and she was constantly glancing in their direction, smiling and waving with her hand when she noticed Sasuke was there. She looked pretty of course, wearing her favourite clothes, skinny jeans and wide-neck shirt revealing her tiny shoulders, with her long and thick bleached hair loose. And Takumi looked lonely, desperate, drunk and vulnerable. No, definitely not good, Sasuke thought.

"She came to talk to me at the bar." He said, glancing from Naruto and back to Sasuke.

"What did she want?" Naruto asked, voice full of hatred, directed at Kimiko obviously.

"She wants us to be together…"

"I thought you already rejected her!" Naruto hissed.

"Naruto calm down." Sasuke said, then turned to Takumi, "I'm gonna go talk to her."

"No, please don't…" he sighed, running shaky fingers through his hair again, "I'm so sorry, guys; I don't know why I bothered you in the first place. I think I'm just gonna go home."

"You sure you okay?" Sasuke asked, frowning.

"Yeah," Takumi tried to make a reassuring smile, but it kinda failed.

Sasuke was worried, but still, he wanted to stay with Naruto and make the most of their time together, so he just nodded and then Takumi walked away.

"Well I didn't know his home was the bar counter." Naruto chuckled darkly.

Indeed Takumi hadn't walked away from the club, he'd stopped by the bar to drink some more.

"He's gonna be fine." Sasuke said as he pulled Naruto closer.

"You sound like you're trying to convince yourself." The blond replied, but he started dancing with him again nonetheless.

"We're having fun." Sasuke whispered, "This is nice. Takumi wouldn't want to ruin this for us, believe me."

"I know but, it's not his fault." Naruto insisted.

Sasuke sighed and glanced around the room. He still felt somewhat drunk and light-headed, but his worrying for Takumi was forcing him to get more serious. Itachi and Ariane were now dancing together. This made Sasuke smile, but he couldn't observe them for very long, he was looking for Kimiko. He'd lost her in the thick crowd of dancers. He spotted Suigetsu and Karin, whose dancing could no longer be qualified of adorable and shy, but rather passionate and lustful. The exact same kind of dancing that Sasuke wanted to be having with Naruto all night long… God damn it Kimi, why do you always have to ruin everything? He thought sadly.

"She's going to see him." Naruto suddenly said.

Sasuke's stare drifted towards the bar, and he saw them. Takumi looked nervous as he clutched his beer in his hands. As for Kimiko, ever the careless seductress, she was leaning on the counter and smiling; she was probably ordering drinks or something, and using that as an excuse to go harass him some more.

Anyway, Sasuke supposed he should be minding his own business. He smiled at Naruto.

"He'll be fine." He said again. "He rejected her once, he can do it again."

This time Naruto didn't protest, and pulling him closer he led the dance. Sasuke started kissing his neck again, and he was starting to have a lot of fun. But then he opened his eyes and just had to look at Takumi to see if he was all right again. But he was nowhere to be seen. Kimiko was still at the bar though, with two colourful drinks in front of her. She was mixing one of them with the straw quickly…

"I can't fucking believe it." He whispered and Naruto pulled away.

"What?"

His dark eyes widened as he saw Takumi come back from the bathroom. He took place beside Kimiko, and sure enough she offered him the drink Sasuke had seen her mix just a moment ago.

"She put something in his drink…" He said.

Naruto followed his stare, and then his blue eyes darkened. "Let's go," he took his hand and led him to the bar.

They were just in time. Naruto put his hand on Takumi's arm to stop him from drinking.

"Don't drink that." He told him.

Takumi frowned slightly as he looked questioningly at Naruto, and then he looked back at the cocktail in his hands and quickly put it back on the counter and stepped away, as if it was dangerous poison. His hazel eyes were clearly hurt as he looked at Kimiko.

She ignored him, as if pretending she had no idea what was going on, and then she looked at Sasuke. "Hey Sasuke! It's been a while… I've missed you!"

"Come with me." He said harshly, grabbing her arm and leading her outside where they could talk without the loud music.

He glanced back at Naruto and the latter nodded slightly, silently telling him it was okay. Sasuke made a little apologetic smile, and then looked back in front of him as they reached the doors.

He would make this quick.

"This needs to stop Kimi." He sighed as he let go of her arm.

For the first time since he knew her, she actually looked sad and guilty. She took a few steps away from the front doors of the club and leaned against the wall of the building. Sasuke followed her slowly, putting his hands in his pockets.

"You wanted to drug him so that you could dance with him all night and then fuck him?" He asked even though he already knew the answer, shaking his head in disbelief. "This needs to stop." He repeated. "You can't go on living your life like that."

"You're giving me lessons on life, Sasuke?" She asked him angrily, looking up, "Excuse me, but you're a fucking junkie. Much worst than me."

He resisted the urge to hit her. If she had been a dude, he wouldn't have hesitated.

"Not anymore." He replied instead. "I've been clean for six months. But that's not the point. You stay away from Takumi. He's suffered enough already because of you."

"I love him!" She exclaimed, tears forming in her dark eyes.

"No you don't!" He hissed, "I know what it's like to love someone Kimi. Maybe I can't give you lessons on life, but I can tell you for sure you don't love him."

"You don't understand!" She wiped her tears in frustration, "I miss him so much! I want him back!"

"You don't deserve him." He said calmly.

She took a step back, as if she had been physically hit.

"Look," he sighed again, "you need to figure out who you want to be. The drugs, partying, all that," he shook his head slightly, "that wasn't working for me. So it was hard but, I stopped and now I might – it's not even sure yet – but I might get Naruto back, and I might get him to trust me again. But it's hard, nothing is easy. Anyway, I guess what I'm trying to say is, if you like this lifestyle, if this is your choice, then I'm not judging you," he said sincerely, "you keep doing that, have fun, whatever, I really don't care, but stay away from Takumi. That's all I'm asking."

She swallowed hard and wiped her tears again, glancing away. There was a moment of silence, and then she looked up at him and nodded.

"I… I should go back to my friends." She finally said, before making her way back inside.

Sasuke shivered outside in the fresh night air in just his tank top, and he decided to go back inside as well to try to find Naruto and Takumi.

But after this confrontation with Kimi… _You're a fucking junkie… _It kept repeating itself over and over in his head. He wasn't feeling so good. And making his way through the crowded club, it brought back memories. Mostly just blurs and flashes of when he was partying every night in places like this, all drugged up and wasted, throwing himself in just anyone's arms, much like most of the dancers were doing all around him.

He couldn't find Naruto. He really needed him right now. His breathing was hard, and he felt nauseous. His stomach muscles hurt. He had drunk a lot, and now he felt so stupid for doing so. He kept remembering all those parties, all those nights out spent dancing, dancing and dancing until he passed out somewhere and would be so fucked up that he'd sleep all day, only to go out again the next night and do the same things all over again, always on drugs, numbing the pain of his existence…

He needed to get out of here. He needed to get back outside… He was starting to hyperventilate or something…

"Sasuke?"

Naruto's voice. Naruto…

He tried to talk but nothing came out. The blond put his arm around him and led him outside again. Yes, Sasuke thought, anything but being inside the club…

Outside they went to stand pretty much at the same place than he had with Kimiko a few minutes earlier. Naruto put the dark blue shirt on his shoulders to try and warm him up a little. But Sasuke was still shaking and breathing too fast.

Naruto wrapped his arms around him and rubbed his back soothingly, "It's okay, it's okay…"

Sasuke held him back fiercely, burying his face in his neck. He calmed himself slowly. When he pulled away Naruto wiped the tears off his cheeks softly with his thumb – Sasuke hadn't even realized he'd cried.

"You okay?" He asked softly, his blue eyes looking at him, so worried.

"Yeah I'm… I'm sorry I think…" he sighed shakily.

"You had a panic attack or something?" Naruto asked.

"Yeah I think so…"

"It's okay, it's over now," he hugged him again. "Come on let's go to my car."

Once they were seated Naruto started driving, but Sasuke frowned, remembering something.

"But what about Takumi? Was he okay did he… need a ride or?"

"No he thought maybe we'd want to stay longer so he called a taxi. He's gonna be okay I think. He said to thank you for not letting him drink that and do something stupid with Kimi again…"

"Yeah… I think she's gonna stay away from him now."

"You gave her the Uchiha glare?" Naruto asked half-teasing.

Sasuke chuckled. "I don't think that would've been enough with her…"

"Anyway, I trust you." Naruto glanced sideways at him, smiling.

He made a little smile and glanced out the window, and they spent the rest of the drive pretty much in silence. But that was okay, they didn't need to say anything. Naruto was holding his hand as he drove, letting go sometimes to change gears, and then holding it again. Sasuke thought it was cute.

Once they were inside their apartment they just stood there for a few seconds, looking at each other. But it didn't last long. Sasuke pushed Naruto back against the door softly and started kissing him. His full, delicious lips, his jaw, his ear, his neck… He pulled away to take off Naruto's shirt, then started kissing his neck again, and he worked his way to his nipples, lingering on each of them, before kissing his toned abs.

Naruto softly pulled him up to kiss him on the lips, and Sasuke kissed back passionately, grinding into his hips and making Naruto moan. The blond helped him remove his shirt and then they pressed their chests together as they kissed, again and again, never wanting to let go.

Slowly all the drama slipped away from Sasuke's mind, replaced by pure passion for this sexy blond in his arms that he loved so much. Suddenly he pulled away, smirked playfully picked Naruto up bridal style.

"You're stronger than you look." Naruto teased him.

Sasuke rolled his eyes; Naruto wasn't heavy. More muscular and a little heavier than Sasuke maybe, but still really light for a guy his height. He put him down on the bed and climbed on top of him. He started kissing his lips again, but then Naruto pulled away slightly and looked at him, frowning.

"What about the challenge?"

Sasuke laughed. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"You know, every night we both kind of wanted to, but we just slept, and I thought that it was kind of like an unspoken challenge… Like who would jump on the other first…" he laughed lightly.

"Oh, that," Sasuke smirked, "I guess we both lost then."

"Not that I'm complaining." Naruto whispered, pressing his hands against his back to pull him closer.

They were both painfully hard already, and Sasuke grinded against Naruto as they kissed, but just rubbing their clothed erections was such a tease. So he pulled away and quickly got rid of Naruto's lower garments.

"Aren't we impatient?"

"Well," Sasuke smirked as he proceeded to get rid of his own pants and boxers as well, "See, I haven't had sex with my boyfriend in like, forever, and now I'm really, really turned on…"

"Oh," Naruto said, "well I guess I can understand that."

Sasuke pressed their naked bodies together as he gave him another bruising kiss. They both moaned through the kiss as they rubbed their erections harshly.

"You can?" He breathed against Naruto's lips.

"Yeah," he said, panting as he arched his back.

He was so hot like that, mid-length blond hair all messy and beautiful face flustered, so needy…

"Naruto," he whispered as he crashed their lips together.

This time he reached for the first drawer of the bedside table for the lube. When he found it he pulled away slightly at least to see what he was doing. But just that was painful, as if he needed to be in contact with Naruto every second…

He quickly applied lube on his fingers, and then he put the small bottle away. He kissed Naruto's neck as he started stretching him.

"Sasuke… Ahh…" he moaned, arching his back.

Sasuke wouldn't be able to hold back very long, not when Naruto was so hot, moaning his name like that… God Sasuke was turned on.

"Sasuke… I need you…"

He'd better hurry up if he didn't want to come right now. So he picked up the lube again and rapidly applied some on his hardened member.

"Please," Naruto pleaded as he placed his hands on his pale hips.

He slid inside him and had to stop there for a moment. It felt so good, it was so tight, so warm, so perfect. He opened his eyes – he hadn't even realized he'd closed them – and locked eyes with Naruto. He loved them so much, those deep blue eyes, half-closed and filled with lust, desire and love.

He started moving inside him slowly at first, but Naruto's hands pressed on his hips urged him to go faster. So he complied, and he leaned closer to kiss Naruto at the same time.

"Sasuke," he kept moaning over and over again, "feels good, ahh…"

Sasuke tilted his head back as he went faster with each thrust.

"God… Sasuke… don't stop, don't stop," Naruto was pleading.

Sasuke was already about to come. It had been too long, and it just felt so damn good, he couldn't control himself for much longer. But he wanted Naruto to come at the same time, so he reached with his hand to stroke Naruto's erection.

"Sasuke!" Naruto was almost screaming at this point.

They reached climax together and tensed in one last thrust, one last blissful moment. Sasuke was trembling, but he just felt so good. This was better than any drug in the world, he decided. And he shared his thoughts with Naruto as he fell on the bed beside him.

"I can be your drug." Naruto whispered teasingly as he turned on his side to hold him.

"You are." Sasuke smiled and kissed him softly.

"I love you so much." Naruto buried his face in his chest.

Sasuke kissed the soft blond hair. "I love you too."

"I don't want you to go back on tour." He whispered.

He pulled him even closer, "We still have a week."

"That's not enough." He replied childishly.

Sasuke chuckled, and kissed his hair again. "I won't be gone for long. I think I'll be back for the premiere of your movie. I'll have to check the dates again, but…"

Naruto pulled away to look at him. "You want to come see the movie?"

The raven reached with his hand to brush Naruto's blond hair behind his ear tenderly. "Of course I want to."

He made a little laugh. "You won't like it."

"You don't know that. Maybe I will."

"I know you won't."

Sasuke shrugged slightly and kissed his lips to end the argument. Still holding each other close, Naruto closed his eyes again. After kissing him one last time, Sasuke closed his eyes as well and drifted to sleep.


	29. The end, the beginning

Chidori

Chapter 29 – The end, the beginning

Two days later, on Thursday morning, Naruto woke up feeling really good. Sasuke's body was so warm and pressed tightly against him under the light sheet. They'd left the window of their bedroom open because the weather was nice lately, but that morning the wind was a little cold. Instead of getting up to go close the window, Naruto held Sasuke even tighter. He started tracing circles on his back with his hands lazily just to feel his smooth skin. No reaction; Sasuke was a heavy sleeper, especially in the morning. But Naruto knew how to get a reaction. He brought one of his hands to the soft raven hair. As he started caressing and massaging, sure enough, Sasuke made a cute little moan and opened his sleepy onyx eyes.

"Hey," he whispered.

"Hey," the blond smiled. "Sorry I didn't want to wake you up."

Sasuke suddenly flipped their positions so that he was on top.

"I think that is exactly what you wanted to do," he said slowly.

"Maybe," he teased.

Sasuke smirked. "You know I'll have to punish you for that."

"Really?" Naruto shivered from anticipation.

"Yeah," the raven whispered before kissing him roughly.

Naruto's body responded and he arched his back. They were already naked from their previous 'activities' that night. Ever since Monday evening, the passion and craving for sex was back between them, big time. Well, not that it was ever gone but, let's just say now they were actually expressing it with no restraints.

He gasped as Sasuke went down on him. All thoughts left his mind, which became filled by the pleasure Sasuke was giving him.

"How is that… a punishment?" he breathed mockingly.

Sasuke stopped and smirked evilly. He slowly moved away from the bed and stretched his lean and toned body lazily before Naruto's wide blue eyes.

"I'm sorry Naruto, I don't feel like it anymore."

"Try again when you don't have a boner you fucking bastard!" Naruto sat up.

"Oh," Sasuke looked down, and then shrugged, "I guess I'm gonna go take a cold shower now."

He walked towards the bathroom.

"Oh no fucking way!" Naruto got up and ran after him.

Sasuke playfully tried to close the door, but Naruto jammed his foot before he could.

"Ow fuck that hurt!" he cursed and Sasuke immediately opened it.

"Shit Naru I'm sorry…"

"It didn't really hurt that bad." He smirked and Sasuke stepped back.

"That's cheating."

"I didn't know there were rules." Naruto moved closer to grab him, but the skinny bastard slipped away and ran to the living room.

Naruto was immediately after him, and he caught him and pushed him on the couch. Sasuke tried to free himself – but without really trying – but Naruto pinned his arms and his body down.

"Where were you planning to hide anyway, under the couch? Behind the curtains?" Naruto mocked.

"I was working on it. We should buy a bigger house," Sasuke chuckled, "Like Itachi's."

"Yeah," Naruto laughed, "Ariane told me she got lost trying to find the bathroom."

"Then I could hide from my crazy boyfriend who wants to rape me all the time." Sasuke breathed against his lips.

Naruto kissed him, then pulled away slightly, "Hmm that must _suck_," he insisted on that last word. "Poor baby, it must be so _hard_ for you…"

"Naruto," Sasuke growled, freeing his hands and bringing them to a sitting position.

They kissed passionately, their hands all over each other. Eventually they got up, still kissing, and made their way to the bedroom. Passion was great, but it was even greater on the comfortable king sized bed.

When Sasuke reached for his entrance with his fingers, Naruto stopped him and flipped them over. During these past few days, Sasuke had always topped. Not that Naruto was complaining but, it was his turn now.

Sasuke adapted to the situation well enough. There he was, under Naruto, his beautiful dark eyes clouded, his raven locks messy on his pale face and neck, his hips slightly lifted forward needily. So vulnerable, so hot, so perfect; how could Naruto ever resist him?

He used some lube and stretched him with his fingers. He saw a little bit of pain flash on his face as he entered a third finger. He leaned down to kiss him softly.

"Relax…" Naruto whispered.

He applied lube on his cock and positioned himself. He knew it would hurt Sasuke a little. It had hurt Naruto a little bit on Monday evening, because it had been such a long time. But lube helped and besides, it wasn't their first time – far from it – so it was okay.

So he expected the look of pain on Sasuke's face as he slid all the way inside him. What he hadn't expected were the sensations he got. He'd almost forgotten how good that felt…

"So… tight… Oh God… Sasuke…" he moaned as he started moving inside him.

Soon Sasuke relaxed and the pain was clearly replaced by pleasure.

"Faster," the raven said, panting, as he moved his hips to match Naruto's movements.

The blond complied willingly, but he didn't know if he could last much longer keeping that pace. So eventually he slowed down again, wanting to make the moment last longer. He kissed Sasuke's bruised lips passionately and reached with his hand to stroke him.

After a few more thrusts Naruto came inside him, and Sasuke came seconds later. The blond used some tissues that they conveniently placed on the bedside table to clean Sasuke's stomach, and then he let his body fall on his lover.

"Fuck, Naruto, be careful I've been shot remember?" He said in a pained voice, and Naruto immediately moved away and fell to his side instead.

"I'm so sorry…"

Sasuke smirked. "It didn't really hurt that bad."

"Bastard," Naruto said fondly before kissing him.

His blue eyes then lay on the alarm clock and he jolted upright.

"Is that the time? Shit…"

"What?" Sasuke frowned.

It was 9 am. He had an interview at 9:30. But it was on the other side of town and whether he took his car or public transportation, he'd be late anyway.

Sasuke figured it out without his having to say anything. "Just cancel it."

"I can't, Karin will kill me…" He picked up his cell phone and hesitated.

"Tell her you're sick," Sasuke suggested, "Stay with me today."

Sasuke pulled him closer and buried his face in his chest.

"Damn you," Naruto chuckled, "You're so cute that I can't resist you."

"I'm not cute."

"You are."

"Tell her you're sick," he insisted, pressing himself closer. "Ariane is better than you at explaining that stupid movie anyway…"

Sasuke did have a point. And it really was an interview of the two of them together. She was probably already there, getting ready… It wasn't a big deal if Naruto didn't show up. He dialled Karin's number.

"H-hello?" she answered, laughing.

Well that was unusual.

"Hey Karin, hum, I'm sorry I can't go to the interview this morning… I'm… sick."

"God you're an awful liar Naruto," Suigetsu's voice said in the phone.

So that was why Karin was in such a good mood.

"Okay, don't worry Naruto I'll take care of it. I'll reschedule."

"Reschedule?" Naruto frowned, confused. "Isn't Ariane there?"

"She's also sick!" Suigetsu's voice said mockingly. "Translation, having sex with Itachi!"

Oh God, Naruto thought, what a pair they made. Both ditching interviews to spend more time with their lovers…

"Shit," Naruto bit his lip, "I'm sorry Karin, I didn't know…"

"It's okay," she said casually. "It's better if I reschedule anyway, they'd rather have the two of you in interview."

"Thank you so much Karin!" He said sincerely.

Suigetsu laughed in the phone, "We know you're fucking Sasuke! Are you there Sasuke? Hey man what's up! It's okay, we all do it! No big deal! Interviews cancelled everyone! It's fucking day today! Hey, that should be a real holiday! I'll invent it…"

Karin was laughing, "Shut up you idiot and give me back my phone! Naruto? You still there? Don't forget about the talk show tomorrow though that one's important okay?"

"Okay!"

Karin hung up and Naruto threw his phone and smiled at Sasuke.

"You heard Suigetsu?" He laughed.

"Fucking day," the raven chuckled, "only he could come up with that."

"How about a shower," Naruto suggested, stroking Sasuke's hair softly, "And then some breakfast…"

"Only if I get to have you for desert." The raven smirked.

"Deal."

- Chidori -

Naruto felt like crying on Saturday morning as he was saying bye to Sasuke at the Haneda airport.

"I won't be gone long." Sasuke whispered in his ear as they held each other.

"I know but… we only just got back together, and you're leaving again."

Sasuke pulled away slightly to look into his eyes. "I'll call you everyday," he said.

Naruto smiled. "Okay. Don't get shot again."

"I'll try."

Naruto chuckled lightly and held him close, kissing his neck. Sasuke pulled away again to kiss his lips.

"Time to go Sasuke." Shizune appeared behind him, "You too, Suigetsu."

Naruto sniffed and glanced at Suigetsu and Karin, who were in pretty much the same situation.

"Bye," Karin whispered and pulled away from her new boyfriend.

Naruto did the same with Sasuke, and with his agent they watched Suigetsu and Sasuke go with Shizune.

"Can you trust him now?" Naruto asked her.

"Yes," she smiled. "What about you?"

"Yeah," he said thoughtfully, but he really did trust Sasuke now.

They started walking toward the exit, and Karin looked up at him.

"If he breaks my trust, it's simple, I'll kill him."

Naruto wasn't a hundred percent sure she was kidding, but he laughed anyway.

"I know what you mean." He said, "But in Sasuke's case... I think he'd rather die than break my trust again, and that's why I trust him."

- Chidori -

Naruto hadn't known how right he was. Sasuke couldn't stop thinking about him. He regretted his mistakes now more than ever. He couldn't believe that he'd hurt Naruto so much… But that was in the past now.

The flight and landing went well, actually pretty much all of his friends were sleeping the whole time.

That night at the hotel room, which he shared with Takumi, Suigetsu and Kiba, he couldn't find sleep even though he hadn't slept much in the plane. Kiba and Suigetsu were sleeping soundly in the other bed, but Sasuke knew that Takumi was also wide awake as he lay right beside him.

"Takumi?"

"Yeah?" he turned to look at him.

"I didn't get the chance to ask you. Did Kimi talk to you again since, you know, that night at the club?"

"No," he shook his head slightly, "I haven't seen her since."

"Good."

"What did you tell her?" He asked, evidently curious.

"To stay the hell away from you. Simple enough."

"You can be pretty scary sometimes." Takumi admitted.

"Well, I also told her that she didn't deserve you." He added, "And it's true."

Takumi was silent for a moment, and then he whispered, "Thanks."

"No problem," Sasuke nodded slightly, "And when you want to find a nice girlfriend, just come to Naruto and me. I'm telling you, we'll open an agency soon."

"Naruto and Sasuke, match makers extraordinaire," Takumi teased.

"It worked for my brother," he shrugged.

Every time he talked to Itachi now, it was always Ariane this, Ariane that, and she's awesome, she's pretty, she's funny, she's great… Itachi was crazy about this girl. It was annoying. But Sasuke was really happy for his brother.

"Well, I'll remember that," Takumi smiled.

"Good."

"Night Sasuke," he chuckled, turning to his other side.

- Chidori -

The last show of Chidori's international tour was held at the Grand Ballroom in Los Angeles, on Monday, May 7th. Shizune had already called Karin – they were good friends now – to tell her that the boys wouldn't be able to make it to the premiere of Fallen Angel, and Karin had probably given the message to Naruto.

But Sasuke was hesitant. There was this huge, intense party that night in L.A. to celebrate the end of their tour and their success. The guys wanted him to be there of course. But if Sasuke skipped the party – which he often did lately anyway – he could hurry and take an express flight from LAX to Tokyo. It would cost him a fortune, but he was rich anyway.

They'd just finished sound check. The others were all gone to visit the city excitedly. But Sasuke was still hesitating. And then he realized, there would always be parties, a lot of them. But there was only one premiere of Naruto's movie. So why the hell was he hesitating?

He took a cab to the airport after he promised Shizune he'd be back to the theatre on time for the show.

While he was waiting in line to buy his ticket, he got a phone call from Suigetsu.

"Hello?"

"Hey man, Shizune told me what you're doing."

"And?" Sasuke's lips twitched into a little smile, "Should I buy two tickets?"

"Yeah," Suigetsu chuckled, "please, I miss her so much man. Fuck the party."

"Great minds think alike."

"Can you say that again?" Suigetsu asked. "That was you complimenting me right? Cause that's so rare, seriously, can you say it again?"

"See you later Suigetsu." He chuckled and hung up.

After getting his tickets he returned outside to take another cab. He checked the time constantly on his cell phone. He was a little bit nervous; he didn't want to be late. But there was so much damn traffic…

Suddenly his cell phone rang making him jump slightly. He frowned when he looked at caller id. It was his father's cell.

"Hello?" he forced himself to answer normally.

"Hi…" There was a clearing of throat, and then, "Sasuke, how are you?"

It was definitely his father's voice. He was an Uchiha all right, calling after a year of silence and trying to make it sound casual, as if it were no big deal.

"I'm good thanks, and you?"

Sasuke was also an Uchiha, after all.

"I'm fine thank you. I… listened to your music."

Sasuke remained silent, waiting for his father to continue.

"I didn't like it."

Sasuke rolled his eyes even though his father couldn't see him. If he was calling just to say that, it would be so lame. Fugaku, just like his wife and his eldest son, enjoyed pretty much only calm, classical music. So it was no surprise he didn't like Chidori.

"But your mother made me listen to the instrumental versions, at the end of the albums."

Sasuke held his breath, it was true, they put the instrumental versions of a few songs at the end, he often forgot about those. But they were mainly the ones with piano versions, and Sasuke's compositions.

"It's very good." His father said simply, "We listen to it often at home."

Simple, maybe, but it meant the world to Sasuke. He had never received any praise from his father. Never. And he sure as hell hadn't expected to receive it now. He closed his eyes for a moment.

"Thank you, Oto-san."

"...You keep working hard son."

He hung up, and for a moment Sasuke didn't move. Then slowly he lowered his arm and put his cell back in his skinny jeans pocket. He smiled as he looked out the window, suddenly more relaxed despite the horrible traffic in the streets of Los Angeles.

He didn't arrive late, but he barely had time to fix his clothes, hair and makeup. In those times he really missed Ino. But his gay – and bi – friends told him not to worry about it.

"You look gorgeous Sasuke." Deidara told him.

"Totally hot," Hiroshi agreed with his boyfriend, "How about a threesome later at the hotel?" He winked at Sasuke teasingly, making him roll his eyes.

"You know you're a sexy emo piece of ass." Suigetsu slapped his ass as if to illustrate his words.

"Time to get on stage guys!" Shizune urged them before Sasuke could kill Suigetsu.

They performed especially well that night, and the adrenaline got to Sasuke's mind, body and voice. The fans were giving him energy, and he was giving it back. He really loved performing with Takumi as his guitarist, Kiba as his drummer and of course Suigetsu as his bassist and back vocals.

But something was always missing, of course. A blond, sexy and crazy something. In every single show of that second tour, Sasuke had always missed Naruto. Well he was simply always missing him, but in the shows, he was picturing Naruto playing guitar next to him with that contagious grin of his. He'd support him no matter what he chose to do with his life; actor, musician, whatever… But he couldn't help but hope he'd choose to join the band again. This had always been their thing, from the start, and without him it just wasn't the same.

After the gig Sasuke smiled and thanked the audience warmly in his best English, and Kiba threw his drum sticks in the crowd, making some fans really happy.

But when it was finished Sasuke knew they needed to hurry up. With Suigetsu, they took a cab back to their hotel in order to pack their things quickly. It was already 2 am, but their tickets were for the 6 am flight so actually they were making good time after all.

So they relaxed and took the time to say bye to their friends, who were also back at the hotel, getting ready to go to an after hour club in downtown L.A.

First they stopped by Akatsuki's room.

"Oh, good luck with those… people you're trying to seduce, girls or guys, I don't really know anymore…" Hidan told them.

"Thank you, that was really thoughtful." Suigetsu rolled his eyes, chuckling.

"I really enjoyed touring with you guys." Yahiko said honestly, "I guess I'll see you around! You'll still work for Sound records for a while?"

"Yeah," Sasuke shrugged lightly, "probably."

Hiroshi smiled and walked up to him, "I know you're not a hugger." He said, but hugged Sasuke briefly anyway, "Take care man. And take care of Naruto, you guys need each other all right?"

"Thanks Hiroshi." Sasuke made a little smile.

Then Hiroshi turned to Suigetsu, "Oh you, I'll really miss you…"

"Gee man!" Suigetsu hugged him, smiling, "Don't be so dramatic. We're friends damn it we'll see each other soon."

"Yeah but I don't know," Hiroshi shrugged as he pulled away, "We've been touring together for almost a year now, even if I wasn't in the same band," he chuckled. "It just won't be the same."

"Yeah I know what you mean," he said.

Deidara walked up to his boyfriend and slid his arms around his waist comfortingly, "Don't be sad Hiro. We'll just have to do another party back in Tokyo so that they can come too."

"That'd be great," Suigetsu's smile widened. "All right we gotta go! Party hard for us!"

"You know we always do!" Deidara replied, laughing.

Next they went to see Kiba and Takumi.

"You guys will make sure to tell me if Naruto's a bad actor okay? So I can tease him about it for the rest of his life," Kiba said.

"I'll tell you every detail," Suigetsu promised.

"Have fun cheating on your girlfriend." Sasuke told Kiba, "Try to at least save a few fan girls for Takumi."

Takumi laughed, but Kiba's smile dropped.

"Very funny," he said.

"Glad you appreciate my humour." Sasuke smirked.

"Guys, let's not fight right now, okay?" Suigetsu intervened. "Kiba, stop being an idiot. Sasuke, stop being a bastard. Takumi, stop laughing. Can we go now?" He asked, turning to Sasuke.

"Yeah."

A couple hours later, they were sitting in the plane in direction of Tokyo.

"I can't wait to surprise Karin," Suigetsu smiled.

"I'm not sure we'll make it on time there…" Sasuke replied.

"What are you talking about?" The silver-haired guy frowned, "Didn't you tell me it was tomorrow at 8 pm?"

"Don't forget about time zones. It's already tomorrow there."

"Right," he sighed, "those damn time zones always confuse me. Man, why didn't they teach us that in school? They never teach us anything useful…"

"Actually they did." The raven cut him, amused.

"Oh."

"You probably weren't listening."

"I was never listening." Suigetsu chuckled.

"My point exactly."

"I was always copying your notes." He said in an almost nostalgic tone, "Or Jugo's or Karin's sometimes… Man, it feels like such a long time ago."

"Yeah," Sasuke agreed.

"Who would have thought? You know? Our little practice sessions in music class and at yours or Naruto's place led us here. It's like… totally unbelievable, yet it's true."

"That was so deep. I'm going to cry, Suigetsu, really."

"Don't be a bastard man I was having a moment."

"Sorry." Sasuke chuckled.

"And you know, I always thought Jugo would be the last of us to get settled."

"And he's married, that shocked me too." Sasuke said, "But I always knew you'd end up with Karin someday."

"You could've told me." Suigetsu teased, "Would've saved me a lot of trouble."

"And ruin all the fun?"

"Whatever…" Suigetsu said but he was smiling.

"Stop talking now I want to sleep."

"Fine bastard."


	30. Mine always

Well, here it is, the last one... Enjoy^^

Chapter 30 – Mine always

It turned out Sasuke had been worrying for nothing. They arrived at Tokyo in the afternoon. Suigetsu kept on insisting that they should surprise Karin and Naruto by making an unexpected appearance.

"Come on!" he insisted as they sat in the back seat of a taxi. "Everyone else will have dates on the red carpet! Karin and Naruto will feel lonely! We'll get there and we'll be like their knights in shining armour!"

Sasuke thought it was silly, but amusing nonetheless. So he agreed. They went to Suigetsu's apartment, which was currently empty because Kiba wasn't there of course. Suigetsu hadn't moved in with Karin yet, so his things were all still there.

"I'm gonna take a shower." Sasuke announced before making his way through the messy apartment and to the bathroom.

"Kay," Suigetsu shrugged as he went to his bedroom.

Sasuke tried to calm down under the soothing hot water. He was a little bit nervous, although he'd hid it well from his best friend. The reason for his anxiety was the press; what would the journalists say when he joined Naruto on the red carpet for the premiere of his movie? They would probably assume they were together, which was true anyway. Sasuke really didn't care. If some Chidori fans stopped listening to their music just because he was gay, well he didn't want such people as fans anyway. But he wondered what Naruto's reaction would be… Knowing Naruto well, he assumed he would be happy about it. But he was still a bit nervous and really hoped he wasn't assuming wrong.

After his shower he wrapped a towel around his waist and returned to the other room where he had left his suitcase. While he fumbled through it Suigetsu took his turn in the bathroom.

Sasuke decided to wear his usual and favourite look; skinny jeans and button down shirt, all black. He went to Suigetsu's bedroom, which was much cleaner than the rest of the apartment – undoubtedly Kiba was the one guilty for the mess – and combed his hair briefly in front of the long mirror hanging on the wall.

Suigetsu joined him in his bedroom soon after to choose his outfit; dark blue skinny jeans, silver and purple striped belt, white shirt with a loose violet tie. When he was done getting dressed he stared at Sasuke.

"What?" He raised a fine black brow.

"Remove your belt."

"What?" He said again, confused.

"Just do it." Suigetsu said as he fumbled through his wardrobe.

Sasuke took off his black belt and Suigetsu handed him a bright blue one with silver spikes on it.

"You want me to wear this?"

"Your deduction skills amaze me."

Sasuke sighed but complied anyway. It did add some colour to his outfit. He was harder to convince, though, when Suigetsu handed him a tie the same shade of blue.

"I don't really like wearing ties."

"Come on man! It will match Naruto's eyes!"

His dark eyes widened a bit as he stared at Suigetsu.

"You used to make fun of Ino for saying girly shit like that but dude, right now, you're kinda even more intense than she was, and it's kinda freaking me out."

"Sorry," he chuckled, "but wear it anyway." He added on a more serious tone.

"Fine," he rolled his eyes as he tied the annoying thing around his neck.

"Now sit down, I'mma do your hair." Suigetsu said, picking up his blow dryer and flat iron.

"Why do you have all this stuff for?" He frowned, but sat down anyway.

Sasuke was sadly used to people doing his hair by now.

Suigetsu pointed his currently wet and slightly wavy hair, "How do you think I get my breath taking look?"

Suigetsu seemed a little bit too amused by all this. But Sasuke decided to let him have his fun.

"Your hair is so soft," he said as he proceeded to dry it, "I'm jealous."

"Stop it man it's getting creepy."

Suigetsu laughed but remained silent after that, concentrated on his task.

Fifteen minutes later Suigetsu was finished straightening Sasuke's hair with his bangs on the side, and leaving the rest just slightly spiky – actually, and as usual, it pretty much looked like his natural hair, only a little sleeker and shinier maybe. But he made no comment.

"There you go my friend, looking absolutely gorgeous!"

"Do you think you could be any more girly?" Sasuke teased.

"Says the guy who just borrowed my eyeliner." He teased back.

"…Fair enough."

Suigetsu then proceeded to do his own hair in no time at all – it was obvious he was used to it. All in all, Sasuke had to admit they looked really good. And the most important thing was that they were actually ready on time. Not wanting to call Karin for information since it would ruin the surprise, they actually looked up on the internet where the premiere of the movie was held exactly.

Sasuke's cell suddenly buzzed in his pocket. He checked it; it was a sms from Naruto, saying 'I miss u'.

He couldn't help but smile. Maybe surprising them was a good idea after all.

"Is it from Naruto?" Suigetsu asked.

"Yeah."

"Aww," Suigetsu smiled. "Hey what time is it?"

"Just check your laptop you idiot."

"Oh, right," he turned back to his open computer. "It's 6:10…"

"Should we go now?" Sasuke shrugged. "If we're too early for your super special awesome surprise appearance we'll just wait in the car."

"Sure, cool. Let's take my car!"

"I don't have mine anyway."

Suigetsu sighed as he put on his dress black shoes, "Why do you always have to make me feel like an idiot?"

"Out of love."

"Yeah right," Suigetsu rolled his eyes.

Sasuke chuckled as he followed him outside and to his car in the small parking lot.

"Good thing we're leaving early," the silver-haired guy said as he took place in the driver's seat. "I need to go fill up the tank."

Sasuke remained silent and just fumbled through the radio channels as Suigetsu drove to the nearest gas station. He stopped when he heard Naruto's name.

"…_rumours of a relationship with co-star Naruto were false, and lead actress Ariane-chan has confirmed that she was bringing her new boyfriend as a date. His name is Uchiha Itachi and he is CEO of Uchiha corp, as well as the older brother of super star Sasuke, singer of Chidori. But the question is, will dreamy actor Naruto bring a date to the premiere..?"_

Sasuke turned it off. This didn't help him relax at all…

"I think they'll have a little surprise," Suigetsu chuckled as he stopped the car, before getting out to fill his gas tank.

Sasuke looked out his open window, lost in his thoughts. It was a really nice day, warm, but not too hot, with a cool wind and no trace of clouds in the sky. He wondered how Naruto felt at this very moment. If he was also looking around him unfocusedly and dreamily, thinking of Sasuke maybe…

"Let's go!" Suigetsu said enthusiastically as he started the car.

They turned on the radio again, and this time Suigetsu chose a popular hip hop/dance music station. He was tapping his fingers on the wheel and moving his head slightly to the beat. There was some traffic as usual – Sasuke was getting kind of sick of this particular downside of big towns – so they weren't worried anymore about being too early.

Suigetsu eventually pulled in an unusually full parking at Ebisu Garden Place, nearby a shopping area. As they got out of the car, they could see that the large promenade had been transformed into a red carpet, and a crowd of journalists and fans of all ages was surrounding it.

As Sasuke and Suigetsu were wondering how the hell to get passed this crazy audience and to the actual red carpet where some actors – Sasuke supposed they were actors – were already standing, they were harassed by two journalists and their cameramen.

"Oh, what a great surprise, here we have Uchiha Sasuke lead singer of the famous band Chidori!" One of them said.

"You came here as a friend and ex band mate of Naruto's?" The other asked.

"We also have here the bassist of Chidori, Suigetsu-kun, how are you doing?"

They continued harassing them with questions, and Sasuke and Suigetsu exchanged a glance that clearly meant, shit, what to do now?

They hadn't thought of bringing along any bodyguards for the night. Just one simple phone call to Tsunade and they could've had at least a few bodyguards to escort them to the event. But they had been so busy thinking about surprising Karin and Naruto…

Thankfully though, the press was distracted by a new arrival, a black limousine. Limousines always attracted journalists.

A few bodyguards opened the doors and surrounded the stunning couple; Ariane and Itachi. She was wearing a long plum dress, simple but very beautiful, with high heel black sandals. Half of her long curly hair was up, and the rest was falling on her naked shoulders. Standing beside her with his arm casually around her thin waist, Itachi was clad in a fancy black suit.

The bodyguards protected them from the too excited journalists, and led them towards the red carpet. When Itachi noticed Sasuke he stopped and smiled at him.

"Hey, I didn't think you'd make it." Itachi said simply, "Come on guys."

The now thicker group of journalists quickly asked a thousand questions concerning the fact that they were brothers – as if it wasn't obvious enough already. But security guards were doing their job very well even though they had two new people to check.

Ariane smiled at them warmly, "I'm so glad you guys are here! Karin and Naruto are gonna be so happy!"

Suigetsu shrugged and smiled back, "That's kinda the point!"

They were let to the red carpet area without anyone questioning their identity first, and immediately they were harassed by fans asking for autographs – well Ariane, mostly – and photographers taking pictures. The bodyguards stood a little further to let them do whatever it is they were supposed to do. Glancing at Ariane and Itachi, who were just standing there letting people take tons of pictures, Sasuke figured that was what. Except he hadn't come all the way here to just stand there. And neither had Suigetsu.

That's when he spotted a familiar blond head. He wasn't too far, and he was with Karin actually. Naruto looked so handsome that Sasuke couldn't help but smile when he saw him. Of course, Karin looked stunning as well in her usual little black dress, and he had no doubt Suigetsu couldn't keep his eyes off her, but Naruto was just too hot for words – in Sasuke's opinion, anyway. But he could tell his opinion was shared by tons of fans begging him for his autograph. He was wearing pale grey stylish skinny jeans and a bright blue v-neck t-shirt with a black blazer left open. His t-shirt was the same blue as Sasuke's tie, actually – Suigetsu would be ecstatic. Naruto's mid-length hair was sleek but slightly messy, and his smile outshone the sun.

Damn it, Sasuke thought, he really had to stop thinking such poetic crap, otherwise he'd end up saying it out loud some day, and that wouldn't be good for his reputation.

Beside Karin and Naruto was a brunet guy Sasuke recognized as Anthony, with a rather short and pretty girl holding his arm. Sasuke thought he spotted Ino and Yoshikazu further, but he didn't recognize anyone else.

Suigetsu was less patient than him apparently – probably less nervous too – because he didn't hesitate and walked quickly towards Karin. She gasped when she saw him, and then she smiled and laughed as he wrapped his arms around her. Sasuke couldn't help but smile – again, damn he was doing that a lot lately – as he looked at them.

He glanced back at Naruto, and at the same time the blond saw him. He must have been expecting Sasuke to be there too after seeing Suigetsu, but still he looked surprised. His eyebrows slightly raised, his smile so beautiful, he looked down a little shyly, and then back up to lock eyes with Sasuke again. There was no point in hesitating anymore.

Still smiling, the raven walked up to Naruto. Without a word, he took his hand and squeezed it softly.

"You came," Naruto chuckled, blue eyes beaming with happiness.

"Yeah," he whispered, ignoring the more than expected feverish questioning of the press.

"Karin said you guys had some crazy party in L.A. for the end of the tour." He said questioningly.

"You're more important."

Naruto's smile widened and he pulled him by the arm, "Come on I'll introduce you to my friends!"

Sasuke followed and kept smiling and nodding politely as Naruto introduced him to his director Kakashi – who made some smart ass comment about finally meeting Naruto's infamous ex, now boyfriend again obviously – and then his co-stars, the whole team behind the movie, and some other friends. Itachi and Ariane were following them.

At some point Karin came to talk to Naruto.

"You have to answer some questions at least," she told him in a low voice.

"Heh, fine," he said, but he continued holding Sasuke's hand as he walked closer to a group of journalists.

Immediately they were attacked by questions.

"Is he your boyfriend?"

"Are you gay?"

"Since when have you been going out?"

"Were you keeping it a secret?"

"Are you gonna go back with Chidori?"

"Do you think this is gonna affect your career as an actor?"

Naruto remained polite and patient as he started talking. There were so many mikes surrounding them that he was sure to be heard well enough.

"Yes, Sasuke is my boyfriend, and no, I don't think this will affect my career at all, whatever that question means hum… Anyway I won't say anymore about my private life. As for returning with Chidori I'm considering it, that's for sure, so I guess time will tell…"

He continued answering to a few questions, no more private ones though, only about the movie. And then it was time for Kakashi and Ariane to answer questions.

"Come on," Naruto led him all the way to the entrance of the theatre, obviously tired of the photographs and journalists.

He was really nice to his fans though, stopping here and there to give some autographs, and always smiling.

"That was intense," Naruto chuckled. "Hey I missed you…"

He wrapped his arms around him tightly.

"I missed you too," he held him back, relaxing into the feel of his body, his delicious scent, his soft skin.

"Say cheese!" Ino's voice suddenly exclaimed.

They pulled away and turned to look at her; she had a small digital camera in her hand and she was smiling mischievously.

"I know them crazy photographs out there keep taking pictures, but I'm taking my own as well," she shrugged. "Oh guys, you look so, so cute together. Even your outfits match!" she said fondly.

Yoshikazu laughed as he put his arm around her shoulders, "Let's let them catch up a little," he said.

Of course, Ino and Yoshikazu's outfits matched as well; she had a pretty knee-length emerald dress, and the shirt under her boyfriend's black suit was the same tint.

"We'll see you guys later," Naruto said when the couple walked away, probably to go find their seats.

The blond turned back to his boyfriend, "I missed you so much," he repeated, shaking his head as if still unsure that Sasuke was really there.

"Yeah me too," he chuckled, "Well, I'm here now…"

"Hey I maintain what I said before though… You're not gonna like the movie."

Before Sasuke could reply, some more people joined them and beat him to it.

"You don't know that Naruto!" Ariane exclaimed, holding Itachi's arm.

"She's right," Kakashi said. "And besides, how could he not like _my_ movie?"

Naruto shrugged and Ariane laughed as she led Itachi to their seats. The others followed them, and soon they had all taken place in the upper section of the theatre. Sasuke ended up sitting in between Itachi and Naruto. Still holding his boyfriend's hand, Sasuke turned to look at his brother.

"How are you?" he asked.

"I'm great, Sasuke," Itachi answered sincerely, "Especially since I'm dating this crazy woman," he added loud enough so that she could hear him.

"I love putting some crazy into your life Itachi," she said teasingly.

Then she turned to talk to Karin, who was sitting on her other side. As for Naruto, he was talking with Yoshikazu and Ino.

"Father called me," Sasuke said in a low voice.

Itachi's eyes widened slightly, "What did he tell you?"

"He… he was nice, actually, well as nice as he can be. You know how he is," he chuckled.

"That's great, but you didn't answer my question."

"He didn't say much," he shrugged slightly. "He said that he hated my music, but that he liked the instrumental versions. And that I should keep working hard. And… he actually called me son."

"Wow," Itachi said, impressed.

"Yeah…"

"Maybe we'll have a family dinner soon, you know, all together. I'll bring Ariane and you'll bring Naruto…" he said half-teasing.

"Not too soon I hope," he sighed, "I don't think it would be such a good idea."

"Yeah, but who knows? Maybe he'll soften up eventually."

"I think so," Sasuke made a little smile, and then turned to look at the screen.

The movie was starting soon. Kakashi gave a little speech, as well as the man Sasuke supposed was the producer, and then they returned to their seats in the front rows to watch it with everyone else.

Ariane was giving a very good performance as the young and vulnerable runaway girl who ends up in a filthy dance club, and Naruto was pretty good actually, impersonating his character well. Anthony and the other guys were… funny, which was exactly what they were supposed to be anyway. The story wasn't that bad, except Sasuke didn't really like sappy love movies. And Naruto kept making comments. All the time.

"It's so weird seeing myself…" he kept saying.

At first Sasuke smiled and thought it was funny, but when he'd said it for the tenth time it was starting to get annoying…

"I mean, and hearing myself too, it's kinda weird… Is my voice really that annoying?"

"Right now it kinda is, yeah…" Sasuke muttered.

"What?"

"Nothing."

Sasuke also didn't particularly enjoy seeing Naruto French kiss Ariane the whole time, or have sex with her. He knew those sex scenes were fake, but hey they were good actors, so it was pretty realistic. That's when Naruto, for the first time during the movie, made a comment that made Sasuke genuinely smile…

"I had to think about you every time… Actually I had to think about you for Kakashi to be satisfied with my act…"

All of a sudden the heated scenes weren't so bad anymore…

After the movie, Sasuke was quiet, letting Naruto lead him back to the theatre hall. The others were anything but quiet though…

"I was lookin' so good in that movie!" that Anthony dude was bragging, his girlfriend nodding enthusiastically.

Ino was looking at Kakashi with teary eyes. "It was such a beautiful story Hatake-san."

Beside her, Yoshikazu chuckled, "She was crying at the end." He kissed her hair and squeezed her shoulders tenderly.

Karin was all smiles, glancing back and forth at Naruto and Ariane. "I'm so proud of you guys!"

"Thank you Karin," Ariane smiled back.

"It was all thanks to you," Naruto added.

Itachi took Ariane's hand and smiled. "I have to say, you were the most talented actress in the movie. You really shone…"

"Hey not cool," Naruto whined, resting his head on Sasuke's shoulder.

Actually, if he was perfectly honest, Sasuke would say that he had also found Ariane to be the most talented. But hey, a little lie never hurt anyone…

"Personally, I thought Naruto was the greatest actor," he said.

Naruto's silly grin made it all worth it.

As for Ariane, she laughed as she looked up at Itachi. "He just said that because he barely noticed there were other actors in the movie."

"There were?" He played along.

Kakashi stepped in. "I am proud of all of you. You were brilliant. And hot. Perfect for my movie!" He smiled.

"He's kinda weird." Sasuke whispered in Naruto's ear, making him laugh.

Ino smiled fondly at them and took a picture with her camera.

Suigetsu, who had stayed a little behind Karin all this time, entered their little circle. Sasuke knew he was content to just be with Karin, but he could only stay quiet for so long.

"Well I thought the beginning of the movie was good. I wouldn't know about the rest," he shrugged. "Except that my girl Karin is a real good kisser!"

"Idiot," Karin hit him playfully.

Anthony sighed, "Yeah I was sitting beside them. It was kinda annoying."

"Anyway my friends," Kakashi said, interrupting the laughs, "I set us up a nice after party to this sweet dance club… Who's in?"

Everyone was very enthusiastic – except Sasuke and Suigetsu.

"Why are there always after parties?" Suigetsu chuckled.

"I know," Sasuke sighed.

Ino and Yoshikazu decided to go home. After Ino took a few more pictures, they said bye to everyone and left. The rest of their little group made their way outside. Only Sasuke, Naruto, Suigetsu and Karin stayed behind, hesitating.

"Come on guys it'll be fun! It's our last party with Kakashi and the team and cast!" Karin pleaded.

Naruto nodded, and looked at Sasuke, "Please, please, please!"

He chuckled and exchanged a glance with Suigetsu. "Karin and Naruto trying to convince us to go to a party…"

"Yeah!" The silver-haired guy laughed. "It's hard to believe."

"We don't have to stay long," Naruto said and Sasuke glanced back at him. "We'll just have fun with our friends, have a drink or two, and then, you know, go home and…"

"Kay," he smiled. "Anything you want."

"Awesome," the blond grinned.

Suigetsu glanced at Karin and shrugged, "I like Naruto's idea."

She smiled, "Me too."

"Awesome!" Naruto said again, and then led them outside.

They walked quickly to catch up with their friends in the parking. Once Kakashi had explained to everyone where to meet exactly, Suigetsu and Karin got into the car. Sasuke was about to follow, but Naruto held him back.

"I have my car," he said.

Sasuke followed him. "How could I not notice your car?" he chuckled.

"It is orange after all," Naruto agreed as he unlocked and opened the door for him.

"Thank you," Sasuke said, amused, as he stepped in and sat down. "And… it was probably cause I was nervous. I mean, that I didn't notice your car."

Naruto tilted his head slightly, confused. "Hold that!"

He closed the door and ran to the other side. He started the car, shifted, and drove away, following Suigetsu.

"You were saying?"

"That I was nervous."

Naruto turned off the music and smiled, but kept his eyes on the road. "Why?" Came the inevitable question.

"I guess you have that effect on me."

Naruto's smile widened slightly, "Uh-huh?"

"And," he continued, "I wasn't completely sure you'd be okay with our relationship going public…"

He risked a glance at Naruto. He glanced back. But his smile was gone.

"Yeah cause hiding it worked so well for us…" he said sarcastically.

Low blow, Sasuke thought. Maybe he deserved it, but it still hurt.

But Naruto seemed to regret it as soon as he'd said it. He bit his lower lip and closed his eyes for a second.

"I'm sorry," he looked at Sasuke, then back at the road. "I'm so sorry Sasuke. I didn't mean that. It just came out…"

"It's okay…"

"No it's not," he shook his head. "I'm sorry. It won't happen again. It's all in the past now. And I forgave you, and I trust you now. And of course I'm happy that our relationship is public!"

Naruto looked so sincere that it made Sasuke feel better, and he smiled.

"Thank you," he said.

Naruto's smile also returned.

"So," he said, changing the subject, "you still haven't told me how you found the movie."

"You were right. I didn't like it."

He laughed, "I knew it."

"But that blond actor was so fucking _hot_! It totally made up for the crappy love story."

Naruto chuckled but didn't comment.

"But," Sasuke continued, more seriously this time, "It was definitely not a realistic story…"

He was mostly thinking, of course, about the part where the girl just stops taking dope without having any withdrawal symptoms. Naruto bit his lip again. Somehow he understood what he meant right away, which surprised Sasuke.

"I…" he glanced sideways at him with sad blue eyes, "I wish I could've been there for you… When you… when you stopped taking heroin."

It looked like a weight was lifted off Naruto's shoulders. Maybe, Sasuke thought, this was something he'd wanted to tell him for a long time. But it was so silly of him to blame himself! He'd been his boyfriend, not a doctor. Sasuke had been the jerk, not the other way around.

Naruto found a parking place behind Suigetsu's car. The latter got out with Karin, and then went to join the others in front of the fancy bar. But Naruto didn't move. Neither did Sasuke.

"It's all in the past, remember?" he finally told Naruto. "Besides, I don't want you to blame yourself for anything – ever."

The blond sighed shakily and looked at him. A single tear rolled down his cheek. Sasuke almost instinctively reached with his hand to wipe it away. Then his hand lingered on his cheek. Naruto took it and squeezed it, then brought it to his lips and kissed it softly.

"I just needed to tell you," he whispered. "Sasuke… do you think…" he leaned closer.

"Yes?" Sasuke held his breath.

"If we survived that," he said, letting go of Sasuke's hand to entangle his fingers in his raven hair, "We can survive anything?"

"Yeah," he breathed against Naruto's lips.

Blue eyes closed as their lips touched. The kiss was so soft and tender. Sasuke shifted in his seat to move closer to his boyfriend. He wrapped his arms around that thin and muscular body he loved so much. He helped Naruto out of his black jacket as their kiss became more passionate. Naruto's tongue slid in his mouth, and Sasuke pushed it away playfully. He barely noticed Naruto's hands undoing his tie and unbuttoning his shirt. His own hands were sliding under Naruto's t-shirt, stroking the soft skin there.

They both jumped and pulled away as they heard a loud knock on Sasuke's window. He turned to lower it.

"You comin' or not?" Suigetsu said in a mocking tone. "And by that I mean coming with us to the club, not…"

"We get it," Sasuke interrupted him.

When he looked back at Naruto he was smiling.

"We can go home right now if you prefer…"

"No it's fine," Sasuke shrugged. Naruto leaned closer to rebutton his shirt. "You wanted to stay with your friends a little bit no? So let's go."

A few minutes later, they were all inside, and they all had their first drink in hand as they stood in a circle near the bar counter.

Naruto had a beer, and Sasuke a margarita.

"Girly drink," the blond teased him.

He shrugged, "At least it tastes good."

He took a sip and licked his lips. Naruto suddenly stepped closer, put his free arm around his waist and kissed him lavishly, exploring his mouth.

When he pulled away he smiled, "You're right it tastes really good."

The others went dancing, right in front of the dj playing some pop dance music with very deep and subtle lyrics: _"Tonight I'm fucking you…"_

Naruto drained the rest of his beer and put it down on the counter loudly, before looking at Sasuke expectantly. He did the same with his "girly drink". Then he took his blond by the hand and they went to join their friends on the dance floor.

As Naruto started dancing Sasuke frowned slightly; he had just noticed something. He was wearing a chain around his neck, but it was partly hidden under his shirt. Sasuke hadn't paid much attention to it before, but now he was wondering if it was _the_ necklace – the one he'd offered Naruto, more than a year ago now.

He brought a hand to Naruto's neck, and took the delicate chain out of his collar, revealing the tear shaped pendant with blue and orange swirls. Of course.

Sasuke smiled. He felt foolish. It was just a necklace after all, but it still meant a lot to him. Naruto had stopped wearing it when they'd broken up.

"It matched my outfit," the blond teased him.

"…Right," he chuckled.

"Come here," Naruto smiled and pulled him closer.

Naruto had always been such a good dancer. Sasuke wasn't bad himself of course. It felt so good to be dancing with him. Their bodies just fit so well together. Naruto's hands, one gripping his hair and the other pressed on his lower back, were turning him on. His own hands were exploring, touching; his ass, his back, his hips…

The music changed to a slower beat, and Naruto pulled him even closer, their hips were touching now. He started kissing Sasuke's neck, and the latter moaned.

"You're so fucking sexy…" Naruto whispered in his ear.

"Hmm… so are you."

Sasuke turned his head slightly, and Naruto got the hint. They kissed passionately, for how long Sasuke didn't know. It was like time had stopped. Like they were alone in the world.

When they finally pulled away, panting – and hard – Sasuke smirked.

"For a guy who wanted to spend time with his friends…" he mocked him gently.

"Whatever," he entangled his fingers in Sasuke's hair and pulled him into another breath taking kiss.

"Not that I have a problem with that," the raven breathed, pulling away for air.

Naruto smirked and grinded him harshly.

"Fuck… Naru…"

"Should we…" Kiss. "Go home now?" Another kiss.

"Ah… Great minds think alike."

But Naruto seemed to be glued to him. He kept grinding him as they danced.

"Hmm… baby you're so fucking horny… I like that."

"Yeah?" Naruto chuckled and pulled away slightly. "But I have a little problem down there… Damn skinny jeans…"

"I noticed," he smiled and shrugged, "Same here. Who cares? Let's go."

Thankfully people dancing in clubs at this late hour of the night were pretty much uncaring of what was going on around them.

They reached the front door, stepped outside and then walked quickly to Naruto's car. His boyfriend walked around to the driver's side. Sasuke was almost trembling in anticipation as he watched the hot blond's every movement.

"God I've missed you," he said.

Naruto stopped his movements, looked up at him and gave him a breathtakingly beautiful smile.

"I missed you too Mr. Heartthrob singer – magazine quote," he teased as he sat behind the wheel.

Sasuke also took place in his seat.

"Mr. Dreamy actor – radio quote." He teased back.

He laughed lightly as he started driving.

"Or Mister…" Sasuke hesitated. "Dreamy… guitarist?"

Naruto smiled, "Lead guitar. Lots of wicked solos. And back vocals too."

Sasuke felt warm inside. And so damn good.

"Anything you want," he said sincerely. Then, more teasingly, he added, "You can even be lead singer if you want. I'll… I'll be the drummer. We'll kick Kiba out."

"Nah, I don't wanna kick anyone out. You and your amazing voice and sexyness, you stay the lead singer. I even wrote a couple songs for ya."

"That's great, I can't wait to hear it. And Takumi's got some pretty good stuff, too. I swear, the guy's like a machine…"

"Look who's talking," Naruto said as he pulled in the parking of their apartment complex. "I saw the notebook, Sasuke." He stopped the car, and turned to look at him, smiling fondly. "You've got some pretty awesome lyrics in there. You didn't even use the third of it in Bittersweet Memories."

"And I have more," Sasuke admitted.

"Well, I guess we'll produce Chidori's third record pretty soon, then."

They got out of the car, and Sasuke walked up to Naruto, and hugged him fiercely. He buried his face in his neck, breathing his delicious perfume, nuzzling his soft hair.

"You have no idea how happy I am right now."

Naruto wrapped his arms around him and kissed his neck softly. "Actually I have a pretty good idea, believe me."

Sasuke's only wish at that moment was to stay with Naruto, forever…

* * *

><p>First of all, thank you, thank you so much for reading this story, for reviewing, I mean, some of you reviewed every single chapter, and it made me so damn happy every time!<p>

Actually, I wrote an epilogue for this. But it's kind of more like a bonus chapter. I'll post it anyway, but there's nothing bit happening in it (just some good stuff, if you know what i mean lol). This chapter is really the last one, where everything comes full circle, and they move forward with their lives from this point on... This is kinda sad for me, cause i grew really attached to this story, to the characters... I really hope you guys enjoyed it, thank you again for all the support for this story, i really appreciate, you're awesome^^


	31. Bonus chapter

Epilogue/Bonus chapter/one shot

A/N: Honestly, this is really more of a one shot - containing mostly, well, yaoi lol. It's absolutely not necessary to the story. I'm posting it here so that you guys can read it, but I'm considering creating a document with a collection of one shots... and I might follow OmNomNOmnivore's suggestion and do some more one shots in this universe. There's also a poll on my profile on that subject, so if you feel like voting...

Other than that, enjoy^^

Sitting at the piano, in the music room of their new house, Sasuke was playing and singing in a low voice. Sometimes he stopped to write what he had just composed.

He jumped slightly when he felt arms encircling his waist from behind. He had been so focused on his work that he hadn't heard his boyfriend come in the room.

"You're working on my song!" Naruto said, pleased, before kissing his neck softly.

Sasuke turned slightly in his seat to look at him. "Yeah I just wanted to add some keyboard to it…"

Naruto pulled away completely, and Sasuke checked him out. He was very sexy wearing only low rise jeans, with his messy blond hair, his tan skin, his tattoo and necklace – he was like a picture out of a magazine. And he was his.

"I was just outside," Naruto explained. "I wanted to cut the grass but then Itachi's stupid gardener arrived… He seems to think I'll just mess up his work if I do anything."

Sasuke chuckled. They had a courtyard to themselves now, behind the nice two-story house situated in the same street as Itachi. The latter had recommended some of his staff to them. Of course, they were Uchiha – they shouldn't have to do any chores. The mental picture of Naruto, shirtless and sweating, and working in the garden was a pleasant one though… Maybe he'd have to talk with that gardener.

"Are the others coming over today?" Sasuke asked.

Naruto shook his head. "Nope. Suigetsu's with Karin…"

"Spare me the details."

He chuckled, "Takumi's helping Hiroshi move in with Deidara, and Kiba… went to see Kimiko, actually."

"How is she?"

Kimiko's solo career had been a failure so far, and she had overdosed recently. She was in a rehab center now, and Kiba, who still considered her a friend, went to see her sometimes.

"He didn't say," Naruto shrugged.

Sasuke got up and ran his hands along Naruto's arms softly.

"So no practice today?"

The blond shrugged again. "We could practice just the two of us…"

"But we're ready. I think. We can take a day off. Besides, we start recording next week."

"Yeah I know Tsunade baa-chan called again to make sure we knew," he rolled his eyes. "But I really can't wait!" he added more enthusiastically.

Naruto was always calling Tsunade granny, just to annoy the hell out of her. In return, Tsunade was calling him brat. But they loved each other deep down. Sasuke thought it was funny, really.

"Hey Sasuke?"

"Hmm?"

"What do you want for your birthday?"

Sasuke frowned, "It's like, in a month…"

"So what? I wanna know now."

He pretended to be thoughtful. "Can I have you?"

"You already have me." He made a little laugh and took his hands.

"Then I don't need anything else."

Naruto rolled his eyes. Sasuke smirked and kissed him softly. When he pulled away his gaze lingered on the picture frames on the wall. It was Naruto's idea. He had asked Ino if he could print some of her pictures. There was one of the whole band, one of Ariane and Itachi, and one of Sasuke and Naruto of course. There were a couple more of just them two in their bedroom, and also one of Naruto's parents. Sasuke thought it was cool. Besides, it made Naruto happy, and it did feel like they were really at home.

When he looked back at Naruto, he was looking at the window.

"Do you wanna go outside, since we're not practicing today?"

"But it's sunny…"

Naruto stared at him, "Yeah that's why I wanna go outside you miserable vampire bastard."

"Is that my new nickname?" Sasuke leaned closer, amused.

"Yes."

Sasuke kissed him, more passionately this time. But Naruto pulled away.

"Let's go outside! Please!"

"Later…" Sasuke whispered as he caressed the smooth skin of Naruto's back. "I have something else in mind right now…"

He reached for Naruto's belt, but the latter stopped him. In a swift movement he picked Sasuke up bridal style.

"Put me down! What're you doing?"

"Compromising," Naruto said as he walked toward the back door.

It was already open. The gardener was watering some flowers that either Itachi or Naruto had selected for their courtyard. Sasuke had no idea.

"Put me down!" he insisted, but Naruto only laughed and held him even tighter.

The gardener, as if scared of them, stopped his work and left, probably just going to the front yard instead. Naruto finally put him down on one of the lounge chairs by the pool. The sunlight and heat was already bothering Sasuke. But he couldn't – nor did he truly want to – get away. Naruto was pinning him to the chair, kissing him breathlessly. He brought him up in a sitting embrace, and helped him take off his shirt. Pressing their bodies together they kissed again. Naruto brought a hand to the hem of his jeans, but Sasuke gasped and pulled away.

"What about like, neighbours, what if they see us?"

"Makes it more exciting, no?" Naruto laughed, but glanced around anyway.

Sasuke followed his eyes. There was no one out. He shrugged, deciding he didn't care, and pulled Naruto into another kiss. This time he didn't stop him from undoing and taking off his pants. He did likewise with Naruto's jeans. He could easily feel Naruto's raging hard-on under his boxers. When he grabbed it with his hand Naruto moaned loudly.

But then suddenly the blond got up, removed his boxers tossing them aside, and after glancing at him with a mischievous smile he dived in the water. Sasuke shook his head and made a little smile. So, not only did the blond force him to go outside, but now he'd also ask him to get in the damn pool…

"Come on Sasuke!" he exclaimed, shaking his now wet blond hair slightly. "You want me? Come get me!"

He took off his boxers and dived in the water as well, swimming after Naruto. He grabbed his ankle and pulled harshly. Naruto's head went underwater for a second, but then he turned around and pushed Sasuke underwater as well. The latter swam toward the side where his feet could actually touch the bottom. When he got out he saw that Naruto had followed him. Sasuke stroked his blond wet bangs aside with his fingers, and then closed his eyes and kissed him. They grinded harshly against each other in the water. Suddenly Naruto pulled him up, placing his legs around his waist. He moved his hips and Sasuke's hips at the same time, to increase the friction. Sasuke entangled his fingers in Naruto's hair. He tilted his head back, moaning, and Naruto was kissing his neck, breathing fast.

"Hmm… that feels good," Sasuke moaned.

But Naruto suddenly stopped and glanced at the house at his left. Sasuke followed his stare, but didn't see anyone.

"It's just, I talked to them yesterday, and they were really nice and friendly… I don't think I want to risk them seeing us…"

"I thought it made it more exciting?" Sasuke teased.

Naruto freed him and they pulled away. They got out of the water and put their boxers back on.

"Sorry," Naruto bit his lip.

"It's okay," Sasuke said, and before Naruto could gather his clothes he picked him up and carried him to the house.

"Put me down bastard," Naruto said, but he was amused.

"Revenge," he said teasingly.

The neat freak in him didn't really like the fact that they were putting water everywhere in the house. And also, he didn't really enjoy the feeling of the chlorinated water sticking to his skin. So he went to the bathroom on the first floor, and only there did he put Naruto down.

"Hmm, we haven't done it in this bathroom yet," Naruto chuckled.

"You're right," Sasuke smirked, "I guess we should get to it then." He added as he turned on the water of the shower.

They hopped in and immediately Naruto kissed his neck, just like he'd been doing in the pool. His hands took place firmly on Sasuke's butt.

"Hey it's my turn okay?" he whispered in his ear.

Sasuke laughed, "We're going in turns now?"

"Yeah."

He didn't mind, he let Naruto take control. And the blond continued to kiss him everywhere. When he placed his cock against his ass he shivered in anticipation.

"Ah, Naruto, fuck…" he moaned as his boyfriend started thrusting inside him.

After the heated session in the shower, and washing themselves, they both went to their bedroom in a silent agreement.

Naruto stretched lazily in the bed, his lean body taking the whole length of the king sized bed. Sasuke climbed on top of him, kissed his forehead, his eyelids, his nose, his lips…

Naruto opened amused blue eyes. "Can't get enough of me, can you?"

"Guilty as charged…"

"I love you," the blond whispered against his lips.

"I love you too, Naruto," he said before kissing him again. "And, it's my turn now."

Naruto laughed and squeezed himself to try to escape Sasuke's grasp. But Sasuke wasn't letting him go anywhere…

"You're mine," he whispered.

Naruto calmed down and looked back at him. His lips twitched into a smile.

"I am?"

"Yeah…"

They kissed, more tenderly this time. Sasuke rolled to his side, still holding Naruto close. They were both hard again. Sasuke slid his hand down Naruto's chest as they kissed, and then to his stomach, and finally to his cock. He pumped it gently, making Naruto moan through the kiss. He increased his pace a little, and then he played with the tip, getting some pre-cum on his fingers. He then slid them to Naruto's butt and his entrance.

"Hmm," the blond pressed Sasuke closer with his hands.

He prepared Naruto, and when the latter begged for it he removed his fingers. He rolled Naruto on his back again, and climbed on top of him. He locked his onyx eyes with Naruto's blue, needy and lustful ones as he slid inside him. He felt good, complete, and he knew Naruto felt the same.

With each thrust he was bringing them closer to pure pleasure. Naruto's hands were at his hips, and his back was slightly arched. It was the most beautiful sight for Sasuke.

"I love you so much," he said, panting.

Naruto smiled. He placed his hands on Sasuke's back and pulled him close.

"I love you," he said back, bringing his hands to Sasuke's hair.

They kissed, and then pulled away again, moaning and breathing loudly. Sasuke closed his eyes as he moved faster. But then he opened them again; he wanted to see Naruto.

He stroked Naruto's cock with his hand as he felt himself close to release. Naruto was, too.

They came looking into each other's eyes, screaming each other's name. At first Sasuke didn't move, not wanting to break the perfect moment.

When he started to pull away slowly, Naruto held him back. They rolled over in the bed, and Sasuke lay on his back with Naruto's arm around his waist and his head on his chest.

"What are you thinking about?" Naruto whispered.

"That… I'm really glad you're back in the band."

"Me too," he smiled. "I can't live without music anyway."

"And I can't live without you."

The blond chuckled and looked up at him. "Now you're just being over dramatic."

"That's how you love me."

"Maybe you're right," he buried his face in the crook of his neck.

"I'm always right."

"Hmm… then tell me, is it possible to be too happy?"

"No," Sasuke caressed his arm softly. "You just have to enjoy the good moments as much as you can."

"Then I'll enjoy every moment I spend with you. Every second."

"Who's being over dramatic now?" He asked, amused, and kissed his forehead softly.

"Shh… Go to sleep now."

"It's the middle of the day." He chuckled.

Naruto smiled. "So? Go to sleep."

"Okay…"

He kissed his forehead one more time, pressed him closer tenderly, and closed his eyes.

The end

Well, don't forget to vote on my profile if you want more one shots in this universe, and once more thank you so much for all the love and support for this story^^


End file.
